I know we’ve covered a bunch of different online reading curriculums for homeschool already on my blog, but today I have a list for you of 10 online reading programs that I think you’re really going to like. Most of these I have never covered on my website before, so hopefully you’ll discover something new to try in your homeschool!
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Scholar Within Online Reading and Spelling Program
First on our list of online homeschool reading and language arts curriculum is Scholar Within. This company offers a homeschool reading and spelling curriculum for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade. This is an Orton-Gillingham based curriculum that teaches phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency.
The Scholar Within program uses both online and offline lessons, and includes step by step instructions and a complete lesson plan, so all you need to do is log on and follow the instructions for each day. They also offer a 7 day free trial so you can try the program out before you commit.
This program has everything mapped out for you day by day, so you really just need to do what it says and follow along. There will be materials to print, such as reading fluency drills, spelling lists, sight word lists, and card games as well as online videos. The whole program should take about 45 minutes to an hour per day to complete.
There’s really a lot to this online reading program and it’s certainly comprehensive. It might be a little hard to keep up with if you don’t do this every weekday the way it has mapped out. But as long as you go in order you should be ok.
If you decide you want to keep this program after your free trial, it will cost $37 a month for one child, or $279 a year.
Total Reader
Next on our list is an online reading assessment program called Total Reader that uses Lexile measures to help promote reading growth. The Total Reader program is designed so that students only read content at the best level for them to help them grow as readers. You can sign up for a free trial and get started right away.
Even though you choose a grade level when you sign up, you’ll still need to read some passages before the program can accurately assess your reading level. Then you’ll be able to choose from a whole bunch of fiction and non fiction passages and keep reading to improve your Lexile measure. So your child can use this program periodically to see if their reading level has improved, but they can also keep reading the passages that the program suggests which are designed to help them improve their reading level.
When you sign up for the free trial, you don’t have to give them any credit card info, which I really appreciate. I’m just honestly not sure how long the free trial is for. It says that the program will cost $39.95 a year for an individual student license, but there’s really no indication here as to when the free trial will run out. If anyone has tried this program and has the answer, I’d love to know! I mean if I just get to keep using this forever, that would be pretty cool.
Reading Kingdom Online Reading Program
Next on our list is Reading Kingdom, an online reading program for kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade. This program uses what they call the “phonics plus” method, which combines phonetic skills with important visual and cognitive skills that’s supposed to turn kids into successful readers. This program teaches phonics, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, writing, and reading comprehension, and claims to teach to a 3rd grade level.
This program offers a 1 month free trial, but you will need to provide your credit card info, so don’t forget to cancel if you don’t end up liking it. After your free trial, this program will cost $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. You can also save 25% by skipping the free trial and going straight to purchase.
When you start this program, you can have your child take the reading assessment or just start with any level you want. The program will guide your child through a series of reading and writing activities that are simple to follow. If you determine that your child isn’t quite ready for this program yet they can start with the Reading Kingdom intro program. There are also a bunch of other programs that you can purchase for an additional fee.
Comprendi Online Reading Comprehension Program
Next is an online reading program specifically designed to teach reading comprehension skills to kids in 4th through 6th grade called Comprendi. This program uses interesting non fiction stories that are divided into 3 parts, with reading comprehension questions at the end of each part. The stories are really visually appealing and fun to read, and each part can be completed in about 20 minutes. In addition to improving your child’s reading comprehension skills, they’ll also get some vocabulary and spelling practice.
The Comprendi program is completely free to use for the rest of the school year, so now is a great time to check it out. If you wait until the fall, it’s going to cost $49.94 for the 2024/2025 school year. The program is still relatively new, so their sign up process is not automated yet. You’ll have to wait for an email with your log in info before you can start using the program. But it’s definitely worth the wait.
I did actually do a full review of the Comprendi program recently, and I really liked it. So if you want to learn more about this program, be sure to check out my post!
Pride Reading Program
If you’re looking for more of a hands on reading program that still incorporates some online resources, you might like the Pride Reading Program. This program uses the Orton-Gillingham approach, and is especially good for students with dyslexia. The program will take your child from beginning letter sounds all the way through reading comprehension.
If you’re ready to purchase this program, you’ll want to use their placement guide to make sure you’re starting with the right level. Then depending on which level you need, you’ll pay around $150 for a full kit. The kit will include a student workbook, online teaching guide, and some additional materials.
This program has everything all planned out for you, including lesson plans and scripted lessons. All you have to do is follow along and do what it tells you to do to help your child learn to read!
Teach Your Monster to Read
Next is a completely free online program called Teach Your Monster to Read. This is a fun online learning game that reminds me a lot of the Hooked on Phonics app. Your child will create their own monster and then guide the monster through a series of learning games designed to teach your child important early reading skills. The program covers everything from letters and sounds to reading full sentences, and is completely free to use as long as you do it on a computer.
Once your child has mastered those early reading skills, they can move on to reading for fun. This program is designed to encourage kids to read more and boost their confidence in reading.
In addition to the reading programs, there’s also a free math program called teach your monster number skills, and an adventurous eating game for picky eaters.
Readarific
Next is another online reading comprehension program called Readarific. This is a 12 week program that claims it can help your child gain years worth of reading comprehension skills in just a few short months. The program includes 60 video lessons that each take about 15 minutes to complete. Although this program can be used by anyone who needs to improve their reading comprehension skills, it is specifically geared towards 3rd grade students.
The technique this program uses is very unique and I think you really just have to see it for yourself to understand what I mean. Luckily, you can get 5 lessons for free with just your email, so you can view the lessons and get an idea of what the program is all about. This program is designed to be done with a parent, so it’s not something you can have your child do on their own. Still, 15 minutes a day is not very much time for the potential to see huge gains in reading comprehension!
The Readarific program is not cheap, so it’s important to make sure you try out the test lesson before you commit. If you love it and want to use it with your child, it will cost $549.98 for the full program, which can be broken into 3 payments of $197 each.
Nessy
Nessy Reading and Spelling is an online literacy program for kids aged 6 to 11 years. The program starts with building phonological awareness and continues through fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. This is also another program that can be helpful for students with dyslexia. It also may be a good choice for students learning english as a second language.
The Nessy program is another online reading program that will give you a 7 day free trial with no credit card required, so you’ve got nothing to lose by checking it out. If you want to keep the program after your free trial, the cost is $13.50 a month, or $110 a year if you purchase a full year up front.
This program is a really cute and fun program that I think kids will enjoy. Design your own version of Nessy and then progress through different reading and spelling challenges. I will admit the parent admin section was a little complicated to follow. There are other programs on here that you can enable which makes it a little confusing.
I also am not sure how you determine what level your child is at to start. My 9 year old was nearby when I was testing this out and I had her try it and wherever the level was at was way too easy for her. I think it’s supposed to base it off how well you do so that it gets harder as you answer the questions correctly. You can also turn on tutor mode in the parent section so that you can skip around, although they don’t recommend this.
MaxScholar
Next on our list is a comprehensive k-12 phonics, reading and writing program called MaxScholar. Create an account and get a 15 day free trial with no credit card required. There are several different parts of the program that you’ll be able to try including phonics, reading, spelling rules and word roots, vocabulary and more.
The free trial of this program lets you try everything out, so there’s really no indication as to where to start. It’s more like a demo. This definitely seems more like something to use as a supplement than a full program. I also don’t see any indication of what this will cost when the free trial is over. This just seems more like something that was designed for schools, although it says on their website that their software is for use either at school or at home. You can also buy workbooks from their website for $30 each.
The lessons on this program seem fine, but there’s just no rhyme or reason to it. All of the reviews I found online seem to be from parents who were asked to try out the program directly from the company. I’d love to know if this is even something that a homeschool parent can actually purchase. I only decided to include it in this post in case you happen to be doing your own research on homeschool reading curriculum and came across this and were wondering what it’s all about.
Red Apple Reading
Last on our list of online reading curriculum for homeschool is Red Apple Reading. This is an online reading program for kids in PreK though 3rd grade that teaches phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and advanced phonics skills. There are 3 different levels to choose from, and your child will hopefully have fun while they learn with over 1000 activities.
Red Apple Reading offers a 30 day free trial, but they do require a credit card, so don’t forget to cancel if you don’t end up liking this program. After the free trial ends, this program will cost $7.50 a month, which is definitely more affordable than some of the other programs.
This program is really cute and I think it would definitely be fun for younger kids. The first level is more of just a free play level, sort of just like a learning app. But the B and C levels follow an actual learning path which reminds me of something like ABC Mouse, Reading Eggs or Hooked on Phonics.
So there are 10 online homeschool reading and language arts curriculums that you can check out today. Hopefully you’ll find something on this list that will be helpful to use in your homeschool!
