10 Educational Websites to Improve Reading Skills & More

The Children’s Book Review | February 26, 2014

Free & Safe Educational Websites

Here is a list of 10 free, safe and educational websites for your children to explore. Each of these sites has a strong offering for kids that are learning to read, ready to enhance their current reading skills, or those simply wanting to relish in the delight of reading for pleasure in an interactive way (reading for pleasure puts children ahead in the classroom).

PBS Kids

PBS KIDS, the number-one educational media brand for kids, offers all children the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, online, mobile and community-based programs.

National Geographic Kids 

National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, website, apps, games, toys, television series and events and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. The award-winning website kids.nationalgeographic.com excites kids about the planet through games, videos, contests, photos, quizzes, and blogs about cultures, animals and destinations.

ABCya.com 

ABCya.com is the leader in free educational kids computer games and activities for elementary students to learn on the web. All children’s educational computer activities were created or approved by certified school teachers. All educational games are free and are modeled from primary grade lessons and enhanced to provide an interactive way for children to learn.

Storyline Online 

Reading to children has been repeatedly shown to improve their reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking, concentration and general academic aptitude… as well as inspire a love of reading. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation records well-known actors reading children’s books and makes graphically dynamic videos so that children around the world can be read to with just the click of a Storyline Online video book image.

Seussville

Official site of Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat featuring games, printable activities, the complete illustrated character guide, information about creator Theodor Seuss Giesel. This site was created by Random House Inc.

Starfall.com

Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

Into the Book

Into the Book is a multimedia package designed to improve students’ reading comprehension, as well as their ability to think and learn across the curriculum. Based on current research, the project focuses on eight learning strategies

Funbrain

Since 1997, kids, teachers, librarians, and parents have enthusiastically turned to Funbrain for its free educational games, online books, and comics. Funbrain, created for kids ages preschool through grade 8, offers more than 100 fun, interactive games that develop skills in math, reading, and literacy. Plus, kids can read a variety of popular books and comics on the site, including Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Amelia Writes Again, and Brewster Rocket.

Pottermore

Pottermore is a unique online experience from J.K. Rowling, built around the Harry Potter books. Pottermore is the place to explore more of the magical world of Harry Potter than ever before and to discover exclusive new content from J.K. Rowling.

Highlights Kids

From the makers of the popular magazine for children, the Highlights for Kids website offers poetry to listen to and read, animated stories, arts and crafts and science experiments.

There are certainly an abundance of educational websites available. We think you’ll find the websites listed above a great place to start. Happy learning, reading and having fun!

*Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.