Interactive Reading and Phonics Websites

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One of the best ways to use the iPad is to use it to interact as a family.

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Reading and phonics will always be the cornerstone of education. The ability to read is an essential skill that everyone needs to master. Literacy begins at birth and those who do not have parents who foster a love for reading will only behind. In the digital age, it makes sense that there are several terrific interactive reading websites available. In this article, we examine five interactive reading sites that are engaging for students. Each site offers terrific resources for teachers and parents.

ICTgames

ICTgames is a fun phonics site that explores the reading process through the use of games. This site is geared toward PK-2nd. ICTgames has around 35 games covering various literacy topics. The topics included in these games are abc order, letter sounds, letter matching, cvc, sound blends, word building, spelling, sentence writing, and several others. The games are centered around dinosaurs, planes, dragons, rockets, and other age-appropriate subjects designed to engage students. ICTgames also has a math game component that is extremely helpful.

PBS Kids

PBS Kids is an excellent site designed to promote phonics and reading in a fun interactive way. PBS Kids features all of the educational programs the television station PBS offers for kids. Each program has different types of engaging games and activities to help kids learn several skill sets. PBS Kids games and activities include many different alphabet learning tools addressing all learning aspects of the alphabetic principle such as alphabet order, letter names and sounds; initial, middle, and ending sounds in words, and sound blending. PBS Kids has a reading, spelling, and thinking component. Kids can have stories read to them while watching their favorite characters and seeing the words across the bottom of the screen. Kids can learn how to spell words with many games and songs specifically targeting spelling. PBS Kids has a printable section where kids can learn through coloring and following directions. PBS Kids also addresses math, science, and other subjects. Kids get the unique opportunity to interact with characters from their favorite programs in a fun learning environment. Children ages 2-10 can benefit immensely by using PBS kids.

ReadWriteThink

ReadWriteThink is a terrific interactive phonics and reading site for K-12. This site is backed by the International Reading Association and NCTE. ReadWriteThink has resources for classrooms, professional development, and for parents to use at home. ReadWriteThink offers 59 different student interactives ranging throughout the grades. Each interactive provides a grade suggested guide. These interactives cover various topics including alphabetic principle, poetry, writing tools, reading comprehension, character, plot, book covers, story outlines, graphing, thinking, processing, organizing, summarizing, and many others. ReadWriteThink also offers printouts, lesson plans, and author calendar resources.

Softschools

Softschools is a terrific site to help learners from Pre-K through Middle School develop a strong reading sense. The site has grade specific tabs you can click on to customize your learning outcome. Softschools has quizzes, games, worksheets, and flashcards designed to highlight specific topics within phonics and language arts. A few of these topics include grammar, spelling, reading comprehension, lowercase/uppercase letters, abc order, beginning/middle/ending sounds, r controlled words, digraphs, diphthongs, synonyms/antonyms, pronoun/noun, adjective/adverb, rhyming words, syllables, and many more. The worksheets and quizzes can either be automatically generated or custom made by the teacher. Softschools also has a test prep section for 3rd grade and up. Softschools is not just a fantastic phonics and language arts site. It is also excellent for many other subjects including math, science, social studies, Spanish, handwriting, and others.

Starfall

Starfall is an excellent free interactive phonics website that is suitable for grades PreK-2nd. Starfall has many different components for kids to explore the reading process. There is an alphabet component where each letter is broken down in its own little book. The book goes over the sound of the letter, words that begin with that letter, how to sign each letter, and the name of each letter. Starfall also has a creativity section. Kids can build and decorate things like snowmen and pumpkins in their own fun creative way while reading a book. Another component of Starfall is reading. There are several interactive stories that help foster learning to read in 4 graduated levels. Starfall has word building games, and also has a math component where kids can learn early math skills from basic number sense to early addition and subtraction. All of these learning components are offered to the public at no charge. There is an additional Starfall you can purchase for a small fee. The additional Starfall is an extension of the learning components discussed previously.

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Meador, Derrick. "Interactive Reading and Phonics Websites." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/interactive-reading-and-phonics-websites-3194781. Meador, Derrick. (2023, April 5). Interactive Reading and Phonics Websites. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/interactive-reading-and-phonics-websites-3194781 Meador, Derrick. "Interactive Reading and Phonics Websites." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/interactive-reading-and-phonics-websites-3194781 (accessed April 18, 2024).