Literacy Apps
Apps are fun and motivating for kids! Let Reading Rockets help you find the very best educational apps that provide practice with essential skills in print awareness, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. We've also included apps for children with dyslexia, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder that support organization and goal-setting, language and communication, and emotional regulation.
Find more recommendations, from the experts at Common Sense Education: Apps and Websites to Build Literacy Skills: Top Picks.
Recommended Apps by Topic
Alphabet Knowledge
Apps that help young children practice recognizing the letters and sounds of the alphabet, and learning to identify uppercase and lowercase letters.
Comprehension
Apps that provide practice with specific comprehension skills, including sequencing, differentiating between fact and opinion, developing word awareness, as well as several mind mapping apps.
Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities
Apps that help kids who struggle with phonics, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, handwriting, word processing, and composition. We've also included text-to-speech apps, audiobook apps, and apps for organization and goal-setting.
Emotional Regulation
Apps to help kids gauge and manage their emotions, reduce anxiety, and adapt to change. (Selected especially for children with autism or Aspergers.)
Language and Communication
Apps that give kids tools for communicating with others, through simple pictures, picture-based stories, and text-to-speech. (Selected especially for children with autism or Aspergers.)
Phonics
Apps that help young children practice basic phonics skills. including recognizing the letters of the alphabet, learning upper case and lower case letters, and word building.
Routines, Schedules, and Organization
Apps to help kids complete tasks independently at home, school, or in the community. (Selected especially for children with autism or Aspergers.)
Social Skills
Apps to help kids to understand their emotions better, learn how to read facial expressions, practice social exchanges, create personalized stories, and more. (Selected especially for children with autism or Aspergers.)
Spelling
Apps developed to help young kids practice spelling and vocabulary. You’ll find crosswords, a spelling bee, Boggle-style games, word builders, and more.
Storytelling
Apps that give kids practice in using simple multimedia tools for to create stories and books (using audio, images, animation, and video), edit their work, and then share with others.
Vocabulary
Apps that engage young children in crossword and Scrabble type games. Other apps focus on specific word meaning skills by highlighting word opposites, synonyms, and homophones.
Writing
Apps that help young children with all of the steps of the writing process — from handwriting skills to sentence construction to planning and drafting a story.
