TOP PICKS | 23 TOOLS
Great Early Reading Resources
Top Picks
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Khan Academy Kids
Creative, smart mix of pre-K to K activities is a breath of fresh air
Bottom line: It's tough to stand out in the crowded early learning space, but this collection does just that, offering a one-stop shop for creative learning of foundational skills.

Name Play: a name reading and writing practice kit
Simple but fun games cleverly let prereaders explore familiar names
Bottom line: This collection of name-based mini-games offers a targeted and clever introduction to literacy.

Montessorium: Intro to Words
Well-crafted app lets emerging readers and writers develop reading skills through word building
Bottom line: Basic reading skills are developed through word building, word play, and letter-sound recognition.

Hooked on Phonics
Well-known curriculum adapts well to fun, easy-to-use app
Bottom line: Thorough phonics program offers a nice mixture of learning, practicing, and reading.

LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game: LeapSchool Reading
Kids play fun reading and hobby games to complete a classroom yearbook
Bottom line: A combination of reading games and activities based on hobbies fill this engaging title about building a yearbook.

HOMER Reading: Learn to Read
Interactive app engages beginning readers of diverse learning styles
Bottom line: Top-notch phonics program effectively balances and guides students through stories, activities, and games.

Monkey Word School Adventure
Delightful monkey means business on this challenging early reading app
Bottom line: Automatic leveling and mix of phonics and sight words make this a great addition to any early reading toolkit.

ABCmouse for Teachers
Cartoon classroom has wide variety of point-and-click learning
Bottom line: With plenty of supervision to help kids stay on track, this free tool for teachers can be a nice classroom supplement.

Montessori Crosswords
Gently ease kids into phonics with superb Montessori-inspired puzzles
Bottom line: The surprisingly great combo of Montessori principles and technology helps kids learn phonics without overstimulation.

Duck Duck Moose Reading
Good early reading practice, but busy with a capital B
Bottom line: Duck Duck Moose Reading offers good skills practice, if kids can block out the distractions.

Starfall Learn to Read
Delight emergent readers with lively phonics lessons
Bottom line: Easy-to-use, plentiful phonics activities keep emergent readers engaged.

Lalilo
K-2 literacy program offers comprehensive, adaptive activities
Bottom line: An easy-to-recommend tool thanks to its broad coverage of key skills and nice balance of student-driven and teacher-differentiated learning.

Raz-Kids
Solid choice for leveled readings and progress-tracking
Bottom line: Trusty -- if a tad dated -- tool for helping younger students become proficient in many aspects of reading.

LeVar Burton Kids Skybrary School
Thorough lesson plans help teachers utilize an amazing digital library
Bottom line: Though it could use some updates, Skybrary School has a set of top-quality resources with great value worth checking out.

Lexia Reading Core5
Interactive reading program promotes targeted, individualized growth
Bottom line: A good blended reading platform that offers students some choices, and teachers actionable data and useful offline resources.

Phonics Genius
Quality flashcard-style phonics app missing some basics
Bottom line: Phonics Genius is a great resource for building phonemic awareness and a library of sight words.

ReadingIQ
Great looking, free library has a reasonable diversity of titles
Bottom line: This is a reading app that focuses primarily -- and successfully -- on the reading; don't expect many bells and whistles though.

Rivet: Better Reading Practice
Free, leveled library has promise despite missing pieces
Bottom line: The free library of high-interest content is handy, but the lack of data and learning features will require supplements and supports.

Amazon Rapids
New way to engage reluctant readers can be a good short-term option
Bottom line: A fresh way to engage reluctant readers, but teachers will need to monitor comprehension and connect students to more complex texts.

Epic! - Unlimited Books for Kids
Free, expansive digital library unlocks treasure trove of books
Bottom line: This large collection of books and videos on a wide variety of topics is an easy -- and free -- enhancement to any classroom library.

Literably
Simple and useful reading fluency assessment tool frees up teacher time
Bottom line: Some districts may find this to be a cost-effective, time-saving option for reading records.

ReadWorks
Differentiate reading instruction with high-quality texts and lessons
Bottom line: The quality and scope of texts, lesson plans, assessments, and supports on this platform can help facilitate targeted reading instruction in any classroom.

News-O-Matic EDU
Flexible, interactive daily stories for elementary school students
Bottom line: Engaging, high-quality news stories help students learn about the world.