Free resources are always a teacher’s dream, but when it comes to free sites to use during reading instruction the choices can be few and far between. Whether you are looking for a site to use during the Daily 5’s “Listen to Reading” time or want to provide students with a fun early-finisher activity, the sites below are ideal.
Designed for elementary-age students, these reading sites are both free and kid-friendly. We hope you find this article and the free resources in contains helpful!
As always, it is strongly recommended that teachers view the sites before introducing them to their students to make sure the content is appropriate for the grade/age level.
1. Storyline Online
Developed by The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, Storyline Online features accomplished actors and actresses reading some of their favorite children’s books. Each story comes with a free Activity Guide and can be viewed on YouTube or SchoolTube. Rainbow Fish, Wilfrid Gordon Macdonald Partridge, and To Be a Drum are just a few of the books available.
2. Free Children’s Stories
Founded in 2008, freechildrenstories.com operates on the simple principle that children’s development is paramount. Their mission is to offer traditional, meaningful storytelling to every child, parent, or teacher around the globe with access to the internet, for free.
3. Starfall
While some areas of Starfall are part of their premium service, they have many early reader stories available for free. Students can follow along as the story is read to them and can, in some instances, help create their own story. The website is highly engaging and a favorite of young readers.
4. Online Storytime by Barnes and Noble
From The Kissing Hand read by author Audrey Wood to Pinkalicious read by Victoria Kann, Barnes and Noble’s Online Storytime has popular children’s books read out loud. While there are no supplemental materials to accompany the stories, this free site is perfect for “Listen to Reading” stations.
Note: The first story begins right away when the page opens so be sure that your volume is adjusted accordingly before clicking the link.
5. TumbleBooks
TumbleBooks is a pay-for-use site that traditionally sells licenses to libraries and schools. Many public libraries, such as the Tell City, IN Public Library, offer free access to their TumbleBooks account. Students can follow along as the text is read them to help improve comprehension and fluency. Choose from picture books to chapter books. Portland Public Library also has free access to TumbleBookCloud which gives access to Middle and High School level books. If your school decides to purchase a school license, there is also access to the Common Core Portal that includes lessons and quizzes to accompany the books.
6. International Children’s Digital Library
Discover books from around the world at the International Children’s Digital Library. The free site does not read the books aloud, but students can read them independently during Read to Self or free time. This is a great site for extension activities when learning about different regions of the world and can be used effectively into the middle school grades.
7. ABCya!
Children can listen to short stories read aloud to them as they follow along with the highlighted text. ABCya! has a variety of educational games in addition to the featured stories. Free resources and materials are available for grades K through 5.
8. Storynory
Storynory features a collection of original, fairy tale, and classic children’s audio stories. Students can follow along with the story as it is read to them, as the text is also included on the site. There are also some great features available that give you the option of downloading the audio to your computer, listening to “catch phrase” explanations, translating text into different languages (especially helpful for your ELL students!), and more.
9. National Geographic Young Explorers
National Geographic Young Explorers is a magazine designed specifically for kindergarten and first grade students. Children can listen to the magazine being read to them as they follow along with the highlighted text. It is a great way to bring interesting non-fiction stories into reading center time.
10. Oxford Owl
After registering for a free account, you have access to over 250 children’s audio books that can be used in the classroom. The book text is not part of the presentation, so students will not be able to follow along as it is read to them.
11. Read to Me
Similar to Storyline Online, Read to Me features popular children’s books being read by famous performers. There are activity guides with hands-on ideas, discussion questions, and lesson plans that can easily be adapted to the Common Core State Standards. Entirely free, the site is colorful and engaging.
Free Download
Post a list of the websites above next to your students’ computers so that they can easily access the pages on their own. Download the complete 11 Free Reading Sites for Kids List.
Be sure to check out 11 Free Math Websites for Kids and 11 Free Science Websites for Kids too!
By Brandi Jordan
I like the stories. However, I would like it if the children could see the words and read along with the reader.
Thanks, Robin Ivey
GrandMother
Great resource! Looking forward to using in volunteer reading program!
On the facebook ad, it was mentioned that a poster for students could be printed out, so they could log on to these sites. Please advise as to how to obtain poster.
Thanks,
Sue
Hi Sue! The download is on the last page of the article. Thanks! ~Brandi
This is so cool! I am 8 yrs old in the 2nd grade. I read on a 3rd to 4th grade level.
I like this because I can pick which ever age group I want. I am having so much fun.
Thanks to my Grandma’s friend who told her about this. Thanks for making it free!!
Micheal
How do you sign up? Is there a process I half to go throw to sign up? Can I use it for homeschooling? What grades are these websites for?
Hi Ann,
If you visit each individual site you can sign-up for an account with each of them there. Most don’t even require registration which is fantastic! They’re free for everyone. Enjoy!
~Brandi
Don’t forget Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off! (www.launchpadmag.com)
Dear Brandi
At http://onlinebooksforchildren.com/ we collect the best free online books for children. Please help us to share our site.
Thanks.
J.F. Conrad
Awesome links! Thanks for sharing =)
These are great ideas for summer reading practice! Â Thank you.
Thank you so much for these great websites. I am a reading coach and was looking for a variety of websites to give to a first grade teacher. She wants to use them during her center time. Awesome!!!
When you get their locations, you can catch up with messages. You can compose an <a href=”http://www.latestdatabase.com/”>email list</a> that has a tempting headline that would bring your lead to click on it, overall known as opening your email. Next, you have to provide for them a convincing motivation to go to a presentation page that would present your item or administration.
Good questions, you just go to the top of the page and it says “create account”
and thanks for give out good websites
thank you for some cute websites. it will help children much
You can also add Dogonews.com and NewsELA.com. Â Both are free websites that give students Non-Fiction texts/articles. Â I really like NewsELA.com because the same text has been adjusted to meet the needs of several different reading levels. Â DogoNews.com has short articles and often comes with a video.
Hey Brandi,
I came across this article on Pinterest. On my browser the article is not showing any of the 11 links. Is there an error on the site?
Sincerely,
BV
Hi Bethany! Oh my goodness, there was definitely an issue! Thanks so much for letting us know!! It’s all fixed now. =) Thanks again! ~Brandi
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