# Help requested: Reading tutorial app for kids. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103 "2017-08-30T14:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/1 "2017-08-30T14:55:19Z")
Hi all, I’m wondering if anyone has had good experiences with apps that boost reading skills for the 1st-2nd grade year range. I have a boy who excels in math but struggles to read. It hasn’t helped that his mother has tried a strict rote-learning regime that sometimes leaves him in tears, leaving him frustrated and embarrassed. I tried flash cards, but he gets bored quickly. He loves for us to read for him, but he’s very timid about reading himself. tl;dr I’m trying to figure out a fun way to build reading confidence for a 2nd grader, hoping maybe someone has road-tested a useful app. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/2 "2017-08-30T17:17:34Z")
Hmmm…? An app? How about you or his mom sit with him EVERY DAY and read to him while he follows along in the book? That will be fun and build confidence. My mother read a bedtime story to me for years and I learned to love reading. To this day, I love being read to. > [@](#): > > The Reading Mother > by > Strickland Gillilan > > I had a mother who read to me > Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea, > Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth, > “Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath. > > I had a Mother who read me lays > Of ancient and gallant and golden days; > Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe, > Which every boy has a right to know. > > I had a Mother who read me tales > Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales, > True to his trust till his tragic death, > Faithfulness blent with his final breath. > > I had a Mother who read me the things > That wholesome life to the boy heart brings– > Stories that stir with an upward touch, > Oh, that each mother of boys were such! > > You may have tangible wealth untold; > Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. > Richer than I you can never be– > I had a Mother who read to me. > > This poem is in the public domain. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/3 "2017-08-30T21:39:02Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > tl;dr I’m trying to figure out a fun way to build reading confidence for a 2nd grader, hoping maybe someone has road-tested a useful app. I had the same problem with my daughter when she was in second grade, and never did find any computer-aided solution, so we made it a point to read a bit every night. Picking the right books was important - apparently we share a preference for the humorous and ridiculous - and sharing the work helped too. I’d read the right side pages and she’d read the left ones. We started this with Louis Sachar’s Wayside School series. She just finished third grade, reads on her own now and seems to be all caught up. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/4 "2017-08-30T21:50:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Hmmm…? An app? > > How about you or his mom sit with him EVERY DAY and read to him while he follows along in the book? Or why not both? They might skew a little young for you, but my son enjoyed and spent a lot of time with [Endless Reader](http://www.originatorkids.com/?p=40) and [Endless Wordplay](http://www.originatorkids.com/?p=913). If you’re doing flash cards and stuff, you might find them helpful. They offer a “free” version with 6-10 words and the entire package is around $30 and takes up a couple gigs of device storage. I usually balk at $30 for an app but, hey, I’ve paid that much and more for a video game so why not pay it for my kid to learn to read? Anyway, you can see the included videos on the website and try to free versions and see if they’d work for you. Although it’s not technically “educational”, I’m also a big fan of my kid playing Scribblenauts. As Tycho from Penny Arcade puts it: > [@](#): > > Scribblenauts isn’t considered an educational game, but it certainly should be; it should be in every house. A copy should be provided to every citizen as soon as they know their letters. I started letting my son play it, even though it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to put much together, and all the sudden he knew how to fucking read. The loop is damn near sorcerous in its power. Let’s say they sound out a word, and try to spell it in there. Maybe the item they wanted comes up! Now they feel like a Goddamned warlock. But, let’s say it doesn’t. Near matches come up. Let’s say they choose the word they meant to write in the beginning. Now they feel like a Goddamned warlock. What if they choose another word? Now they’ve learned a new word, maybe two words, made a new thing, and they feel like a Goddamned warlock. At its core, Scribbelnauts is about using the written word to create things and finding the right words for what you need to create to solve the puzzle. Doesn’t get more educational than that. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/5 "2017-08-31T10:14:01Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Hmmm…? An app? > > How about you or his mom sit with him EVERY DAY and read to him while he follows along in the book? We already do sit and read with him every day, after school and at night, but thanks for the helpful bit of tsk-tsking there. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/6 "2017-08-31T10:19:46Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Although it’s not technically “educational”, I’m also a big fan of my kid playing Scribblenauts. As Tycho from Penny Arcade puts it:At its core, Scribbelnauts is about using the written word to create things and finding the right words for what you need to create to solve the puzzle. Doesn’t get more educational than that. Thanks for this… it sounds fun and effective. Unfortunately I don’t see it for Android/MacOSX, I should have mentioned those limitations. Maybe I’ll drag out an old PC laptop just for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-requested-reading-tutorial-app-for-kids/795103/7 "2017-08-31T12:55:21Z")
Definitely available for Android: [Scribblenauts Remix](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wb.goog.scribbleremix&hl=en) [Scribblenauts Unlimited](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wb.goog.scribblenauts3&hl=en) From the looks of it, Unlimited has much more content out of the gate whereas Remix is microtransaction based. Another fun game is [Letter Quest](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.baconbanditgames.spellquest&hl=en), where you control a cute Grim Reaper guy making his way through dungeons and defeating monsters by spelling words with Scrabble-like tiles. It may be a little much for your son right now if he has limited vocabulary and spelling skills but might be good for the future. Or, heck, let him try it now and see how far he gets – sometimes they surprise you when they get motivated by something.