Free and fun elementary reading websites for kids
As a parent, it is vital that you provide your child access to good quality books and other reading materials that teach him or her vocabulary, sentence structures as well as important virtues in life. With a range of technological options available nowadays, there are various websites that compile hundreds of books and short stories for children to read. Let us walk through this post to explore some free and fun elementary reading websites for kids!
Make a rough estimate on your kid’s reading level
Before searching for the best elementary reading websites for your kid, figure out your kid’s reading proficiency level first so as to choose the most suitable website to aid in your child’s reading proficiency.
Usually, your child’s reading proficiency is linked to his or her educational level. For example, if your child is around the ages of 6 to 7, you may want to consider reading materials designed for Grade 1 (Primary 1 in the Singapore context) readers. That being said, each child is unique and keep an eye on whether your child displays advanced reading skills for his or her age or is struggling with reading basic texts and words due to preexisting conditions like autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Tools like the Lexile Framework rank books based on their difficulty levels and score these books on a scale. A typical Lexile score reading level ranges from 0L to 2000L, so you may consider this framework helpful when trying to assess your child’s reading level. Depending on your child’s reading level as gauged by the Lexile score, suggestions would be made with regard to the type of reading materials suitable for your child’s proficiency.
#1: Between the Lions
Between the Lions offers a range of video resources including read-along folktales and innovative fables, song videos of letter sounds, as well as a host of interesting stories and catchy songs to hold kids’ attention. With their short video clips mostly ranging from 20 seconds to 6 minutes in length, your child can enjoy a range of them or re-watch some clips [2].
#2: Storynory
Introduce Storynory to your child particularly if he or she is of elementary school-going age. Your child can then enjoy audio lessons and enhance his or her reading skills independently. Furthermore, this website features works from classic authors like Charles Dickens as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, making it ideal for 8 to 12-year-old children to expand their reading repertoire.
#3: Starfall
Starfall Education (an organisation that offers free and low-cost learning resources for children) provides a collection of captivating games and activities ranging from the alphabet to legends. Reading materials entail simple sentences, short stories, poems, plays, fiction, nonfiction, comics, folk tales, Greek myths, and Chinese fables. Videos in the phonics section showcase letter sounds and patterns. Your child may choose to read the stories by himself or herself or rely on a narrator offered by Starfall. While reading, your child can read the text on the screen and click on unfamiliar words to learn.
#4. StoryPlace
If your child is a preschooler, then perhaps StoryPlace may be a useful tool. This site offers interactive reading material as well as videos offering colours, movements and different brightness levels to keep your little one engaged and keen to read more!
#5: PebbleGo
If your child is of a certain reading proficiency, he or she may want to explore PebbleGo as a useful research resource. This platform provides information on animals, history and science along with reading texts. Thus it can aid struggling readers to enhance their reading abilities. That being said, bear in mind that this site has also a paid section that necessitates a school sign-on code to log in.
What are the downsides of reading websites for kids?
While elementary reading websites such as the five mentioned above provide useful tools for parents and educators to aid their children under their tutelage, these websites are by no means intended as complete substitutes of parents and teachers as children’s primary educators.
Notably, there are some downsides involved when relying too much on online reading websites. We explore some of these disadvantages below:
- Technological Costs: While the websites themselves are generally inexpensive, not every family can afford a computer and internet access at home.
- Prolong Screen Time: Online educational tools add even more screen time to children’s day. If your child is already addicted to digital screens, you may want to take that into consideration when deciding to let him or her rely on online reading sites to enhance reading skills.
- Replaces Essential Modes of Learning: If your child relies on online reading and educational sites to learn too much, he or she would miss out on educational opportunities offered by hands-on exploration, face-to-face interaction with others as well as outdoor physical activities [2].Parents and educators therefore would have to exercise discretion and supervision to ensure that children get the most out of physical, in-person learning that is irreplaceable for a child’s healthy development and growth.
References
[1] N. P. enter your name here, P. enter your name here, /* C. C. */.tdb-A.-B. .tdb-Author-Photo, and T. SplashLearn, “21+ best reading websites for kids,” SplashLearn Blog – Educational Resources for Parents, Teachers & Kids, 30-Aug-2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.splashlearn.com/blog/best-reading-websites-for-kids/. [Accessed: 29-Sep-2022].
[2] H. Reina, “10 free and Fun elementary reading websites for kids,” WeHaveKids, 09-Aug-2011. [Online]. Available: https://wehavekids.com/education/elementary-reading-websites-for-kids. [Accessed: 29-Sep-2022].
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