Reading is a big adventure, and one of the first steps of this adventure is learning “sight words.” These are the words that kids see a lot when they read. The importance of sight words cannot be overstated. According to a study cited by D.J. Kear & M.A. Gladhart, sight words account for up to 75% of the words used in beginning children’s printed material. This statistic underscores the significance of integrating sight word apps into early education, as they provide an interactive and engaging platform for children to learn these essential words.
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Try for freeTraditional methods like flashcards are effective, but sight word apps for kids have become a valuable resource in our digital era. They offer interactive and engaging ways for children to learn and practice sight words, making the process enjoyable and effective.
As we move forward, we will introduce you to the top sight word apps that combine education with entertainment, ensuring that your child is learning and having fun in the process.
Ready to make sight words fun? Explore interactive sight word games and watch your child’s reading skills soar!
What are Sight Words?
Sight words are common words that kids learn to recognize without sounding them out. Because they often don’t follow the normal rules of spelling or sounding out, it’s better for kids just to know them by sight. That’s why we call them “sight words.”
For young readers, mastering sight words is important. It helps them to not only read faster but also understand what they’re reading better. When kids don’t have to stop and figure out each word, they can enjoy the story more and feel more confident about their reading. This is why finding fun ways to help kids learn sight words is so important. It sets them up for success in reading from the start.
Want to reinforce sight word recognition with fun exercises? Check out our sight word worksheets for engaging practice!
11 Best Sight Word Apps for Kids
1. SplashLearn
SplashLearn is a versatile and comprehensive educational app offering a rich math and reading curriculum, including an extensive section on sight words. Its adaptability is a standout feature, allowing it to serve a wide age range, from pre-K to grade 5 students. The app’s interactive games and engaging worksheets are designed to make learning a playful and enjoyable experience.
Features: With over 900 sight word games and an extensive library of 900+ worksheets, SplashLearn ensures a well-rounded approach to sight word learning. Among these, 550+ games target Dolch Sight Words, while others focus on Fry Sight Words. The interactive features, including animated characters and rewards, create an engaging learning environment that kids love. Parents can easily track their child’s progress through a convenient dashboard, while the adaptive learning path customizes the difficulty level based on performance, ensuring a personalized learning journey.
Devices: iOS and Android
Price: SplashLearn can be downloaded for free, allowing users to explore its features without any initial cost. This free version allows children to play 2 games daily at no charge. The app offers a subscription model for those seeking full access to all features. After the free trial period, the subscription is priced at $7.49 per month when subscribed annually. Teachers can access SplashLearn for free, providing an excellent resource for classroom learning.
2. Reading Ninja
‘Reading Ninja’ is an inventive sight word game app that engages children by incorporating the excitement of a ninja slicing game with the educational task of learning sight words. It’s designed to help children improve their speed and accuracy in word recognition, making it an entertaining way to practice and reinforce sight word knowledge.
Features: With a variety of levels that cater to different reading stages, Reading Ninja keeps the challenge appropriate for the child’s skill level. It includes a vast library of sight words, ensuring the content is never repetitive and always suitable for the child’s growing abilities.
Devices: Compatible with iOS devices
Price: While the initial download is free, it offers in-app purchases for advanced levels and features, ranging from $0.99 to $2.99, allowing parents to customize the learning experience.
3. Teach Your Monster to Read
‘Teach Your Monster to Read’ is a highly engaging app that transforms learning to read into a delightful game. With its foundation in phonics, complemented by sight word recognition, it’s an ideal kindergarten sight words app. The journey begins with simple letter recognition and evolves into reading full sentences, supporting children at each step of their reading development.
Features: The app boasts a rich, interactive narrative where children can create and customize their monster, leading it through a series of fun-packed educational games. It covers everything from basic phonics to complex sentences, perfect for children aged 3-6.
Price: The initial download is free, with the full game priced at around $4.99, offering a comprehensive experience without further in-app purchases.
Related Reading: Best Reading Apps for Kids: How to Use Screens For Stories
4. Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs is one of the most comprehensive sight words apps available, offering a multi-faceted approach to learning. It combines sight words with phonics and includes a vast library of digital books, songs, and rewards, making it a full-featured learning experience.
Features: The app provides over 2,500 e-books, detailed lesson plans, and interactive activities that cater to individual learning paths. It’s designed to hold a child’s interest with colorful animations and characters that guide them through learning.
Devices: Accessible on iOS and Android
Price: It operates on a subscription basis, with monthly plans starting around $9.99, and offers a free trial period for new users to explore the app’s offerings.
5. Sight Words by Little Speller
‘Sight Words by Little Speller’ emphasizes the spelling aspect of sight words, making it a unique tool among apps for learning sight words. It’s designed to reinforce word recognition through interactive spelling exercises.
Features: One of the key features is the app’s customization options, which allow parents and teachers to tailor the difficulty level and word lists to match their child’s or student’s learning needs. It also includes voice prompts for auditory learning and interactive puzzles to enhance engagement.
Devices: Available for iOS devices
Price: It is usually free to download, with optional in-app purchases for additional content, typically costing under $5.
6. Starfall Learn to Read
Starfall Learn to Read is known for its effective combination of phonics and sight words, making it one of the best sight word games for early readers. The app uses entertaining read-along stories and songs to make learning to read fun.
Features: Starfall’s interactive elements stand out, with games and animations that encourage children to engage with the reading process. It’s particularly good for children who are just starting to read on their own.
Devices: Available on iOS and Android
Price: Starfall offers a free version with the option to subscribe for more content, with subscriptions starting at around $35 per year.
Related Reading: Best English Games to Help Kids Practice & Master the Language Quickly
7. Sight Words Sentence Builder
Sight Words Sentence Builder is an educational app that helps children learn to construct sentences using sight words, which is a critical next step after individual word recognition. It’s designed to strengthen a child’s grasp of sentence structure and grammar, making it one of the best sight word apps for budding readers.
Features: The app provides an interactive learning experience where children drag and drop words to build sentences, accompanied by illustrations to enhance comprehension. As children progress, the sentences become more complex, building their reading and writing skills.
Device: Available on both iOS and Android platforms
Price: It’s typically free to download, with options for in-app purchases that unlock a wider range of sentence complexity and additional levels for a comprehensive learning experience.
8. Endless Reader
Endless Reader is a fun and educational app that introduces children to sight words through interactive puzzles and cute, engaging animations. It’s particularly effective for visual learners and is considered one of the best sight word apps due to its unique approach to word association and sentence structure.
Features: Each word is presented in the context of a sentence, helping children understand its usage. The app’s characters bring the words to life, making learning enjoyable and memorable. Endless Reader covers a vast array of sight words, from basic to more advanced, ensuring it grows with your child’s abilities.
Devices: Compatible with iOS and Android devices
Price: It offers a selection of words for free, with the option to purchase additional word packs, which range in price but offer a wealth of content for the investment.
9. Spelling City
Spelling City is a comprehensive educational platform that offers an extensive selection of word games, making it a versatile tool for learning sight words. It’s an ideal app for classroom and home use, providing a fun and interactive way to improve spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.
Features: With over 35 games and activities, Spelling City offers a customizable learning experience. Teachers and parents can create word lists or use the thousands available on the app, tailored to the child’s learning level and the curriculum.
Devices: Available on iOS
Price: Spelling City offers a basic free version, while the premium membership provides full access to all games and features. The premium subscription is priced at $29.99 per year.
10. Hooked on Phonics
Hooked on Phonics is a well-established app known for its successful reading program that combines phonics with sight word learning. It’s designed to help children read by teaching them through a balanced mix of phonetic patterns and sight word recognition, making it one of the best sight word apps for comprehensive literacy development.
Features: The app includes over 250 interactive games, videos, and songs that make learning to read an enjoyable experience. It’s structured in lessons that align with school curriculums, providing a step-by-step approach to reading that has been proven effective for decades.
Devices: Available for iOS and Android
Price: It offers a free trial to give parents and children a taste of the program, with various subscription options available afterward. The monthly subscription is around $6.99, with annual options offering better value, typically priced at $39.99.
Related Reading: How to Teach Phonics to Kids - Step By Step Guide
11. Bob Books Reading Magic
Bob Books Reading Magic is a beloved app that follows the principles of the Bob Books method and is renowned for its success in helping children transition from deciphering letters to reading words and sentences. This app is particularly effective for children just beginning to learn sight words, offering a gentle introduction to these essential building blocks of reading.
Features: The app features interactive animations that bring the classic Bob Books to life, with drag-and-drop letter games that reinforce letter sounds and word formation. It progresses through 12 scenes, each designed to build reading skills step by step, ensuring children gain confidence as they learn.
Devices: Available on iOS and Android
Price: The app is typically priced at around $3.99, including the full set of scenes and activities without any additional in-app purchases.
Related Reading: Best English Learning Apps for Kids to Make Learning a Breeze
10 Tips for Using Sight Word Apps in the Classroom
When integrating sight word apps into the classroom, it’s important to use them as tools that complement your teaching rather than as replacements for traditional methods. Here are some tips to make the most of these digital resources:
1. Incorporate Apps into Lesson Plans: Plan specific times during the week for app-based activities. Align the app content with the sight words you cover in class to reinforce learning.
2. Personalize the Experience: Many apps offer customizable features. Use these to tailor the difficulty level and word lists to match your student’s learning needs.
3. Encourage Regular Practice: Set aside time for students to use sight word apps regularly. Consistent practice can help solidify their understanding and recall of sight words.
4. Track Progress: Take advantage of apps that provide tracking and reporting features to monitor each student’s progress. This can help you identify which students may need additional support.
5. Facilitate Group Learning: Use apps as a basis for group activities. Students can collaborate on sight word games, encouraging collaboration and social learning.
6. Communicate with Parents: Share app recommendations with parents so they can support their child’s learning at home. Some apps may have home connection features that you can utilize.
7. Balance Screen Time: While apps are valuable educational tools, balancing screen time with other learning activities is important. Ensure that students also engage with books, writing, and hands-on activities.
8. Create a Reward System: Many apps have built-in rewards, but creating a classroom-specific reward system for reaching sight word milestones can motivate students.
9. Provide Feedback: Give students constructive feedback on their app usage and progress. Personal attention can boost their confidence and encourage continued use.
10. Stay Updated: Keep up with updates to your chosen apps and explore new ones to keep the content fresh and engaging for students.
By thoughtfully integrating sight word apps into your teaching, you can provide a dynamic and interactive learning experience that supports the development of essential reading skills.
Enhance your teaching with interactive sight word games that kids love. Teachers, sign up for free and bring excitement into your reading lessons!
Conclusion
And there you have it! Sight word apps are a fantastic way to sprinkle some fun into learning to read. They turn what could be a tricky part of learning into a game, making it easier for kids to get the hang of those all-important sight words. Whether you’re a teacher looking to shake things up in the classroom or a parent helping your child at home, these apps offer a variety of ways to make learning to read an adventure. Remember, the key is to use these apps as part of a balanced reading diet—mix them with books, storytelling, and writing for the best results.
Related Reading: Sight Words for First Graders That They Can Easily Learn
Elevate your teaching strategies. Get started now and watch your kids excel in reading with interactive sight word resources!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the best sight words apps for iPad?
The best sight words apps for iPad include SplashLearn, Sight Words Sentence Builder, and Bob Books Reading Magic. These apps are user-friendly, highly interactive, and offer a range of activities tailored to different learning levels.
Are there any apps specifically for practicing Dolch sight words?
Yes, Sight Words by Little Speller and Sight Words Learning Games & Reading Flash Cards are great apps that focus on Dolch sight words. They provide engaging ways for children to practice and master these essential word lists.
What are the best sight words app for Android?
For Android users, SplashLearn and Hooked on Phonics are excellent choices. They offer a variety of interactive games and activities that make learning sight words engaging and effective for children.
