In this digital world, getting a kid to read can be difficult. Reading apps strive to give ten-year-olds the confidence they need to build new reading skills that they can use. From phonics to vocabulary and reading comprehension, these apps will give your child a fun way to build those reading skills and create a love for reading.
Why Are Educational Apps Important For 10-Year-Olds?
Reading apps are perfect for children who can already read, but even early readers can enjoy the variety of audiobooks online or be exposed to seeing letters and words on the screen. Exposing your child to reading apps at a young age introduces your child to reading techniques that can set them up for a future of reading success. There are many benefits of children using educational apps, including:
- Apps make reading feel fun, which can create a love of reading at an early age.
- Kids can access large libraries of diverse books that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them.
- Game-based learning is effective in mastering reading
- Reading apps expose kids to other reading mediums like interactive books and audiobooks.
- Young children can practice early reading skills in an engaging way.
- Enhanced parent communication about child progress
- Apps appeal to kids and are low-risk for them, and it teaches them valuable technology to use in the future.
- Many apps have levels, so learning can be individualized.
- Studies have shown that learning apps lead to higher test scores, particularly in math.
- Using educational apps can help children learn technology
- Privacy to make progress individually without the judgment of other students or peers
What To Be Aware Of When Using Educational Apps
While educational apps have many benefits, they don’t come without some things to be aware of. The most important thing to remember is to balance apps with traditional learning.
1. Not Learning Traditional Skills
Now due to changing technology such as spell check, grammar check, plagiarism check, etc., we use our working memory less often. Ensure that you include other in-person activities along with app use so the child also knows how to use traditional skills and doesn’t rely solely on technology.
2. Less In-Person Interaction
Only receiving impersonal feedback that apps provide can desensitize a child to emotions and reactions or make them hypersensitive due to a lack of practice reading body language. Parents and teachers use this in-person reaction when a child is succeeding to encourage progress.
3. Overstimulation And Distraction
Depending on the child, the noise, colors, or activities could be overstimulating or distracting to learning.
4. Can Widen Gaps
There are gaps in our country when it comes to education and income. A child that has devices and apps at home and parents willing to help them is at a huge advantage compared to a lower-income child that doesn’t have devices or apps at home and parents that are less comfortable with technology.
5. Apps Are Singular
There aren’t many apps that are played as a group or while standing or running around. Children sit on these apps often by themselves, and if it is several hours a day, that can affect both their physical and emotional development.
The Top 10 Reading Apps For 10-Year-Olds
Here are our top 10 reading apps for 10-year-olds.
1. Audible on Kindle
Audible is a subscription service of Amazon that offers a large catalog of audiobooks. They have audio stories for kids of all ages to engage kids that aren’t enthusiastic about reading more advanced books on their own. A younger reader can listen along with the narration of books and develop listening comprehension.Audible also offers plenty for adults as well as children. Audible is $14.95 a month after a 30-day free trial and is available for Kindle, Windows 10, iOS, and Android.
2. Homer Learn And Grow
Although Homer Learn and Grow is known as an app for kids that are 8 and under, an older kid can also benefit from the over 1,000 games and stories available. Homer was designed by a team of child development, curriculum design, and education tech experts. Homer focuses on eight skill areas and was created and tested in head start classrooms, and has been proven to help kids learn letter sounds and phonics.Homer offers so many activities that it would be challenging for your child to get bored. They can explore stories and record their voice as they read and answer questions. The app also gives positive feedback to encourage them to keep up their progress. Homer is free to use and is available on iOS and Android.
3. Hoopla
Hoopla supercharges an existing library card to access 800,000 media titles, including instructional videos, audiobooks, documentaries, comics, and more. If you have an existing library card, you can borrow up to eight items a month.Hoopla offers a range of topics from other languages to history and is free to use on iOS, Android, and Kindle. The only downside is that there are no parental controls.
4. Marvel Hero Tales
If your kid is a fan of comics, this app is sure to make reading fun. They will go up against villains in a playable comic book while developing grammar and focusing on vocabulary.Children can roleplay as their favorite Marvel superhero while they patrol the city. To defeat villains, they need to compose sentences by filling in a blank with a noun, verb, or adverb. As they progress through the game, the sentences are saved and made into a personal comic to be read when the game is finished.Marvel Hero Tales is a creative way for kids to practice language skills while having fun. This app is free with in-app purchases and upgrades to play specific characters and is available on iOS and Android.
5. PBS Kids
Educational shows like PBS have been shown to improve social, linguistic, and cognitive skills, but if they consume the content through interactive games, they benefit more. PBS Kids features the PBS family characters and has over 24 mini-games with reading-focused activities. PBS Kids offers varied content to grow with your child. This app is free to use on iOS, Android, and Kindle
6. Simplex Spelling HD- Dolch Sight Words With Reverse Phonics
This app helps your child learn over 240 often misspelled high-frequency words. Struggling with tough terms can affect a child’s reading speed. This app provides quizzes, hint buttons, and popup messages that help kids practice spelling and phonics. It also has accessibility for sign language.This app costs $4.99 and is only available on iOS.
7. SwampTales: Leon!
This app is part storytelling and part puzzle. SwampTales teaches kids language skills in a choose-your-own-adventure style. Your child can swap words on the screen and watch as the picture changes to reflect the new meaning of the words. This enables them to use the power of words to change the story.If your child gets stuck in SwampTales, the app offers hints to help them go forward. They can also play alone or with a family member. SwampTales comes equipped in English, Italian, French, Spanish, or German. This app is $4.99 and is available for iPad and Android.
8. Weirdwood Manor
Weirdwood Manor is an interactive storybook that takes the child into the home of a reclusive benefactor. They then join three children with abilities to uncover clues, solve puzzles and collect hidden items to solve the mystery. You can read with or without audio and track progress along the way.Weirdwood Manor is $2.99 per chapter or $8.99 for premium access and is available on iOS only.
9. WordWhile: Casual Literary Fun
Whether or not your kid loves classic books, they will get a lot out of this mad libs-like app. This app asks the child to read a brief phrase and fill in the blank with either a serious or funny answer. The child will earn achievements based on content themes such as tongue twisters, classics, etc., as they practice speech and reading.WordWhile is $3.99 and is available on iOS, Android, and Kindle.
10. Epic
If your child loves digital libraries, Epic will open up a new world. They provide over 40,000 high-quality children's books for kids of all ages to become confident readers. Children can choose from books, audiobooks, reading books, or animated books. There is a wide variety for every age, topic, and reading level.Epic offers a free version or an unlimited version for $9.99 a month or $71.99 per year and is available on iOS, Chromebook, the web, and Android.
Final Thoughts
Educational apps like reading apps have many benefits for children including making reading feel fun, exposing them to new modes of reading, can provide individualized learning and more.It is crucial to choose the right educational apps for your child to foster growth in reading and help them to build the right skills for the future.
