One of the top life skills anyone can learn is reading fluently.
Curriculum
Reading websites for kids
One of the top life skills anyone can learn is reading fluently.
This is naturally true for children, and good reading skills can help them thrive at school and later in life. Although this might initially sound like something that can be hard to achieve for kids, it has been suggested that just 15 minutes of reading practice per day can help.
Education resources
Reading websites can be a great resource to use
The trickiest part of this can be getting kids to read for at least 15 minutes each day to boost their reading abilities. One great way to make it more fun is using reading websites. Children love logging onto them and getting involved with literacy in a modern, fresh way. With masses of options now for all ages, they are certainly worth trying out. The top reading websites for kids enable students to track their progress and discover new books to dive into!
With a nice blend of free and paid reading platforms to consider, they are an excellent tool for parents or schools to try. But which are the very best platforms to help students become avid bookworms? We’ll start with the top free options to inspire young people below – without breaking the bank!
ABCya
This is one of the top free reading websites and injects a whole load of fun into literacy for kids. In addition, the range of excellent games here enables young readers to hit relevant learning objectives. The standard free account delivers primary site access but comes with some adverts. If this is an issue, it is possible to upgrade to a paid school or family account covering grades Pre-K-6.
Between the Lions
Between the Lions is a live-action/animated show on PBS which aims to promote reading for children. This free-to-use website is the online version and is aimed at grades Pre-K-1. It is full of fun videos to inspire kids across various themes. To help younger readers, some of the available videos even help with letter sounds!
Biblionasium
Most adults will know about the Goodreads website that helps people find top books to enjoy. Biblonasium is essentially a young person’s version of this. Dedicated to the social side of reading, it presents a safe digital space for sharing excellent books to try out.
Bookshare
Kids who have disabilities that make reading a challenge can often find building fluency in this area tough. Bookshare is a platform that helps to redress this balance. A digital library service, it helps those in grades Pre-K-12 with print reading disabilities get involved.
CommonLit
This site offers a vast range of lessons and standard-aligned reading passages, which helps make literacy interesting for young people. As well as a selection of top children’s book genres to browse, it also enables users to search by grade level and device.
DOGONews
This child-friendly reading site is full of exciting news articles to dive into and can even be accessed in Spanish and English! The intuitive user interface makes it simple to assign stories to the reader, and each article has its guidelines to check out beforehand.
Epic
Aimed at young readers in grades Pre-K-8, this platform contains thousands of digital books from top authors to enjoy. As well as standard online books, there are also videos and audiobooks to discover. This is a nice touch and can help persuade less enthusiastic readers to get going.
Explorer Magazine
While many kids love fiction, some find non-fiction stories more exciting. For children like this, Explorer Magazine is the answer. This platform combines National Geographics style non-fiction content for those in grades K-5.
FunBrain
Free reading websites for kids don’t come much better than FunBrain. This site has not only a variety of books to explore online but also some fantastic games and videos too. With top titles like ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ available, it is a top choice.
International Children’s Digital Library
From the University of Maryland, this site contains over 4,000 free e-books for kids to read via the internet. For those in grades K-8, this excellent reading platform also has books in alternative languages to English.
Khan Academy
This is a popular learning website for young people, and their reading courses are especially good. Full of lessons and quizzes to embed knowledge, those in grades 2-9 will find this platform helpful in building reading skills. For very young readers, Khan Academy Kids is aimed at grades Pre-K-2.
Lalilo
If you think your students or children would find phonics/reading helpful comprehension, this is the website to try. The range of adaptive exercises here is ideal for inspiring those learning to read and delivering a personalized experience for each user. Although districts and schools have to pay for the premium version, teachers get it for nothing!
Oxford Owl
Oxford University Press is a well-respected name in publishing and are the people behind Oxford Owl. While it is a UK site, free digital books and games are still relevant for US users. For grades Pre-K-2, this platform even has tips for parents/teachers to encourage a love for reading.
Reading Bear
This free-to-use site introduces vital concepts and vocab for those just starting to learn how to read. It also teaches kids about the significant phonetic patterns in written English.
Read Theory
Readers in grades K-12 will love logging onto this fabulous website and checking out the excellent online activities. Perfect for all ability levels, it offers users skill development tasks directly aimed at their individual needs.
ReadWorks
Another fantastic reading website for children, ReadWorks, is also a top platform to use in the classroom. Ideal for students of all ages, you can project text passages to analyze via a projector in school or print off work to send home with pupils.
Scholastic Kids Press
One of the best ways to make kids love reading is by showing them news stories from other children. This superb platform does just this and is, therefore, one that most kids find exciting to log onto. Updated regularly and for grades 4-8, it sees young reporters post articles on current events around the planet.
Storyline Online
As well as articles written by other children being an excellent tool for promoting reading, stories read by well-known celebs can also help. Storyline Online hits the mark here and features read-along tales from celebrities with super creative illustrations.
StoryPlace
If you want your kids or students to get the experience of a library visit without actually going anywhere, this is the reading website to try. Full of animated videos, songs, reading activities, and more, it is an excellent site for those in grades Pre-K-1.
Story Time From Space
Inspiring kids to get into reading can often be about making it look or feel relaxed. This platform comes with a space theme, which makes it one child gravitate towards. The stories on this site are read aloud by real astronauts and often boast STEM themes.
Teaching Kids News
This site delivers readable new stories aimed at children in grades 3-8. It also has some fun literacy tasks to complete and tips for broaching sensitive news topics with younger people.
Tween Tribune by Smithsonian
The Smithsonian is well-known for quality reporting on interesting non-fiction topics. This kids’ reading site has stories for every interest, enabling you to tweak the learning level for varying student requirements. It is suitable for grades K-12.
Vooks
Promoted as the very first streaming service for animated storybooks, this site has a small collection of quality books to read. Although the parent version comes with a monthly fee, the classroom account is free. It is best suited to those in grades Pre-K-2.
What about paid learning programs?
There are many ways to encourage children to read more, and free-to-use literacy websites are a top choice.
They are especially good if you want to help kids get more from reading without spending or signing up for monthly plans. Sometimes, learning programs or paid reading websites can be worth considering, as they can provide access to more content.
But which are the best-paid learning programs to think about using?
ABC Mouse
This paid program starts with those new to reading and takes them through to being fluent readers. Containing learning which covers the whole curriculum, you will need to sign up for a monthly or yearly plan after the initial 30-day free trial.
Adventure Academy
This reading program comes from the same people behind ABC Mouse and the quality shows. This, though, is aimed at older children (grades 3-8) and allows them to practice their reading skills. In addition, they can also get lessons on other subjects like science or math here.
Amplify Reading
Aimed at kids in grades K-5, Amplify Reading is full of unique characters and fun storylines. It also sees users take on several customized challenges, making it even more fabulous to log onto.
HOMER
Another paid reading site that takes a more personal learning approach is HOMER. This platform creates a customized reading program for children which is based on their interests/reading level. Site membership comes with access to over 200 engaging animated stories and a section focused on iconic Sesame Street figures.
MagicBlox
This site needs a paid subscription for young readers in grades K-8. Once inside, though, it does come alive! There are various e-books in different languages around the globe, for example, and a regularly updated library of titles.
PebbleGo
For teachers with pupils in the K-3 age range, PebbleGo is excellent for showing them how to research correctly. It helps students learn to use reliable and safe sources when delving into various online subjects.
Reading Eggs
Although there is an initial 30-day free trial period, this platform will require a paid monthly/annual subscription afterward. One of the top reading sites for kids due to its overall design, it has suitable games, songs to sing, and tasks that help kids practice their phonics. Although aimed at Pre-K-6, Reading Eggspress is also available for older children.
Starfall
Paid for on an annual subscription basis, this site for grades Pre-K-3 can help kids get the hang of reading. This is mainly done through phonetics and sees children singing songs to help them improve.
TumbleBook
A fun reading site for schools, TumbleBook offers animated picture stories. There is no doubt how much young readers love this and how much it helps inspire them to read more. As well as school accounts giving access to all computers in all classrooms, home access can be gained via the school website.
Whooo’s Reading
This site is suitable for all ages and is excellent for getting kids thinking about reading with open-ended quiz questions. To help them improve as they go, the site gives feedback tips as they write and answer questions.
Top reading websites for children
As the above shows, there is an excellent selection of free and paid websites which can help kids get into reading more. By using resources like this either at home or in the classroom, it is possible to improve a child’s reading skills and set them up to handle life more effectively.
