Apps for Literacy and Learning

Question It is an educational app designed to help people with autism and language issues develop and strengthen concepts of language. It provides experience in sorting and answering “wh…” questions by systematically teaching which types of words answer which types of questions.

Articulation Station provides speech professionals, teachers, and parents with ways to help kids improve pronunciation and articulation. Using very specific exercises, games, and stories that focus on just one letter sound for 22 English language sounds, this app can improve pronunciation and understanding of how letter sounds form words. With more than 1,000 target words, kids will likely not get bored with this app. Adults have easy ways to track kids’ progress and can track up to six kids at once. 

Scene Speak is like a create-and-store digital library for photo books, flash cards, diagrams, and more. Parents or teachers can make photo books of kids’ favorite stories, family photos, vocabulary words, and almost anything else they need to practice vocabulary skills.

Customizable app that helps kids practice tracing letters, numbers, and words while learning letter names and phonetic sounds.

This app is based on the award-winning Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read system, and teaches Concepts of Print, Phonological Awareness, High-Frequency Words, Letter-Sound Correspondence, and more. Note: The app offers a 7-day free trial, and unless cancelled can be converted to a subscription-based program, with monthly, yearly and lifetime subscriptions.

An e-reading literacy platform to support independent reading. Students can use LightSail to check out texts from their schools’ digital libraries and read the books directly on their devices. As students progress through a book, questions appear to gauge their comprehension. Kids can earn badges and a Lexile measure.

Rocket Speller mixes up academics and fun to help kids with letter recognition and spelling. As kids spell words correctly, they earn parts of a rocket to assemble and fly. The free version includes five levels and the choice of upper- or lowercase letters. The paid version, Rocket Speller PLUS, is $2.99 and includes the choice of letter name or phonetic sound and the choice of word category.