TOP PICKS | 31 TOOLS

Middle School Reading Apps and Websites

There's no question middle school can be a big hurdle for readers; students' skills can stagnate and never recover. Thankfully, there are some terrific tech tools out there to help teachers support students' growth. From phonemic awareness to phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, the skills covered in this collection mean you're bound to find the right tool to support your students' needs. You'll find everything from diagnostic tools to interactive e-readers, close-reading instruction, and even some online reading communities to help kids get engaged around high-interest topics.

Top Picks

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Literator

Handy app helps structure and track reading conferences

Bottom line: Once teachers are all set up and organized, this can be a useful tool for conferencing and tracking student progress.

Grades: Pre-K–8 Price: Free, Paid There's a free mobile app that lets teachers do on-the-fly assessments. The paid account is $30 per month and includes a web version with goal-tracking and differentiation features. A school license is $2,799 per year. Districts can request a quote.

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Bookshare

Unique digital library gives access to those with print disabilities

Bottom line: This fantastic digital library service provides a powerful sense of independence for students with print-related disabilities.

Grades: Pre-K–12 Price: Free, Paid Free for students and schools in the U.S.

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ReadWriteThink

Excellent free resource for all things reading and writing

Bottom line: A language arts teacher's dream; lesson plans, professional development, and all-around quality support.

Grades: Pre-K–12 Price: Free

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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.

Grades: K–7 Price: Contact for pricing Contact for exact pricing. Pricing varies based on number of students and how frequently the school or district would like to find students' reading levels. Most plans are $6 to $9 per student with a minimum purchase of $1,000.

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Read With Me Fluency

Make assessing, tracking students' reading fluency a breeze

Bottom line: Easy-to-use paperless reading records work great but could use a few updates.

Grades: K–8 Price: $4.99

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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.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free

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ReadTheory

Useful, adaptive tool for assessing, tracking reading ability

Bottom line: It's very utilitarian, but what it does it does well: getting students test-ready by effectively assessing and tracking reading ability.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free

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Smithsonian: TweenTribune

Trustworthy tween news site has cool classroom component

Bottom line: TweenTribune's questions, quizzes, and educator tools can help kids follow and understand the news; its content may work best with younger users.

Grades: K–12 Price: Free

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LightSail Education

Robust, full-featured reading app measures meaningful literacy gains

Bottom line: A powerful, well-designed literacy platform for developing engaged readers.

Grades: 1–12 Price: Free While schools will need to contact LightSail for pricing, their website states that packages start at $5,000 and $12 per student.

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TeachingBooks.net

Dense site collects resources on authors and books in one place

Bottom line: With time and effort, this database of literary resources can extend learning experiences with books and their authors.

Grades: 2–7 Price: Free to try A school-wide subscription starts at $400 per year. There are plans (each with unique pricing) available for homeschool caregivers, libraries, districts, and higher education institutions.

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Newsela

Absorbing daily news stories offer kids just-right learning content

Bottom line: Up-to-date, high-interest articles meet students right at their level: Use this robust tool to bolster students' nonfiction reading practice.

Grades: 2–12 Price: Free, Paid There's a "Pro" subscription targeted at schools, but pricing information isn't public; interested teachers and districts can contact them for more information.

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Harry Potter Reading Club

The fun and fantasy of Harry's world plus literary discussion

Bottom line: With activities, discussion questions, and lots of free access to the books, this site is a great place for Harry Potter fans new and old.

Grades: 3–7 Price: Free

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Accelerated Reader 360

Boundless, flexible tools promote instructional, independent reading

Bottom line: A stellar literacy platform for assessing student reading levels and promoting further reading.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Contact for pricing Pricing is not transparent, and purchases are targeted at the school or district level. Interested parties must call or go to the website to live chat with a sales rep.

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CommonLit

Feature-rich literacy resource offers superb support for readers

Bottom line: Access a hefty collection of reliable, ready-to-print, leveled passages that allow you to tailor lessons, assign online reading, and track progress.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free

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Curriculet

Elegant, customizable e-reader empowers close reading, boosts skills

Bottom line: An excellent tool for in-text assessment. Maximize the platform's usefulness by uploading your own texts and setting up CCSS-aligned checkpoints.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Paid Contact Waterford, Curriculet's publisher, for pricing information.

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Rewordify

Text-leveling tool gives every student access to complex readings

Bottom line: This utilitarian differentiation tool is useful enough to be in every teacher's toolbox.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free

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ThinkCERCA

Well-structured lessons encourage deep analysis, thoughtful writing

Bottom line: This is a ready-to-go, research-backed resource that focuses intently on CCSS-aligned and AP-level critical reading and writing skills.

Grades: 3–12 Price: Free, Paid Free Basic version limited to four grade band-based differentiation levels, short reading lessons, and multiple-choice assessments. Paid Premium version adds 10 levels of differentiation (grades 3-12), more in-depth and varied lessons, writing benchmarking, rubrics, data dashboards, and more. Contact for a quote.

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Whooo's Reading

Innovative take on independent reading ditches multiple-choice quizzes

Bottom line: A convenient, well-intentioned tool for supporting a quality, interest-driven independent reading program, but make sure to tweak the auto-generated scores and questions.

Grades: 4–8 Price: Free

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BeeLine Reader

A surprisingly simple tool to improve reading

Bottom line: This is a unique, easy-to-implement reading fluency and comprehension aid that's gaining some evidence of effectiveness.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid Free version supports two news sources and one email/social source. For $0.99, users can add three more news sites. For separate $4.99 subscriptions, users can have unlimited news sites and unlimited email/social options.

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Actively Learn

Empowering reader keeps kids actively, independently engaged

Bottom line: Far beyond the average e-reader, this tool helps students connect and stay engaged while teachers easily measure progress.

Grades: 4–12 Price: Free, Paid The free version has 3,000 texts, Google Classroom integration, and simple custom assignments. The paid Prime version adds more data, reporting, and differentiation. There's also an Unlimited plan with addition school and district supports. Contact for a demo and pricing.

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iTooch 6th Grade Language Arts

Quality lessons, challenging quizzes help kids learn core concepts

Bottom line: This solid companion to the ELA classroom offers brief lessons and quizzes to reinforce key concepts and skills.

Grades: 5–8 Price: Free to try, Paid iOS apps in the iTooch series range from $0.99–$9.99 for one content area and one grade level, and many have free introductory versions. There are also bundles available. The Android versions are free, and students must complete each level to unlock the next. Users can unlock all levels of the Android app at once for an in-app purchase of $4.99.

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Xyza: News for Kids

Subscription-based, kid-friendly news site keeps kids up-to-date

Bottom line: It's a useful starting point to spark interest in the news and build awareness of current events, but not as ideal for teaching media literacy skills.

Grades: 5–9 Price: Free to try, Paid Online-only access is $12 for three months, $20 for six, or $40 for 12 months. Print content subscriptions or a subscription to both the print and online versions both cost $15 for three months, $25 for six months, or $50 for 12 months.

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LitPick

Tweens' reviews of YA literature great for classroom use

Bottom line: LitPick is a safe, fun environment for YA lovers to read their favorite books while learning how to discuss literature.

Grades: 5–12 Price: Free

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Amplify Reading 6-8

Supplemental reading program puts sci-fi twist on core ELA concepts

Bottom line: This is a creative, thoughtfully built program that, while a bit contrived, could slot well into many classrooms with some scaffolding.

Grades: 6–8 Price: Paid Contact for a quote.

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StudySync

Superb ELA/EL resource is a complete package

Bottom line: StudySync continues to thoughtfully grow its already robust platform, offering a complete secondary ELA/EL program that cleverly bridges reading and writing, online and offline work.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free to try A one-year subscription starts at $21.42 per student. The print student reading and writing companion units cost $10.20 per student per year, and the print bundles (including two novels) start at $31.11 per student per year.

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InsertLearning

Useful Chrome extension lets teachers add interactivity to websites

Bottom line: A potential go-to tool for teachers focused on building critical reading skills, especially those in Chromebook classrooms.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free to try, Paid The limited trial includes five docents. After that, it's $40/year or $8/month. School and district pricing is available; contact DocentEDU for details.

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KQED Education

Great news and classroom resources support both teachers and students

Bottom line: With some organizational adjustments, the site could be an exceptional place for both kids and teachers to find educational inspiration.

Grades: 6–12 Price: Free

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