When it comes to kids and reading, I feel like it’s all or nothing. Either you have a kid who loves to read or you have a child who you have to constantly nag to pick up a book. If your child falls into the second group or even somewhere in the middle, then you’re probably always looking for new ways to increase their reading time.
That’s where ReadingIQ comes in.
ReadingIQ is a reading program you can access on a desktop, tablet or phone. I recently gave it a try with my seven and 10-year-old daughters and the feedback was generally positive.
How ReadingIQ Works
After you log-in, answer a few questions, and set-up your child’s account, you have the option of having your child take a reading assessment so they’re choosing books on their reading level. We found this to be extremely helpful because there are so many books to choose from that you don’t necessarily want to scroll through everything to find something you not only like, but also a book that’s on your level. As a parent, I found this helpful because kids get frustrated when they start reading books that may be too difficult for them or if they have found a book they like, only to discover it’s not on their level.
During the reading assessment, your child will select a short story from a couple of options, then answer reading comprehension questions about them. My girls said the choices for the reading assessment weren’t as interesting as the books they eventually got to choose from.
After the assessment, ReadingIQ assigns a reading level. When users go to choose a book to read, they can see books that are on their assessed level, as well as other selections. There are literally thousands of books to pick from, so your child should be able to find something that interests them.
When my seven-year-old did the reading assessment, it told her she had to read another story because it couldn’t assess her properly. It didn’t give the reason why. As a parent, I would have liked to have known whether it was because the story was too hard, too easy or because she didn’t answer the questions correctly. My 10-year-old was able to get her assessment after taking the test once.
Another thing we wondered about was how many of the reading comprehension questions they answered correctly. When your child is done, you don’t find out their score, just what range level of books is appropriate for them. This was another piece of information we felt was lacking with the program.
Besides using the assessed levels you get after the reading test, you can also let your child choose books by their grade level, accelerated reading level, or their Lexile level. I felt as though the assessed reading level for both my children was accurate with their skill level, but I would have liked to have had access to a chart that showed where their assessed reading level compared to their grade level to get an idea of whether they were on track.
Variety, variety, variety
Once my children received their assessed reading level, they liked scrolling through the vast variety of books. Besides going through the assessed books, they can also choose books by categories like music and art, Disney, and even Star Wars. We found this helpful because one of my daughters wanted a book on soccer, so we just went to the sports section to find it. You can also use the search function to look for topics and specific book titles.
In general, my daughters and I have enjoyed using the Reading IQ program. They like it because there’s a big variety of books, and I enjoy it because it’s easy enough for them to use on their own. If you have trouble getting your child to read traditional books, Reading IQ could be a good alternative because it incorporates technology with the fundamentals of reading. Even for kids who enjoy reading paper books, Reading IQ is a good option because it gives them a huge variety of books to read without having to spend a lot of money.
To learn more about ReadingIQ visit www.readingiq.com.