Sound Sliders

Our sound sliders are a proven way to help children not only learn letter sounds, but also blend them together to sound out words. They’re like training wheels for learning to read.

The sliders in the app do not make sounds themselves; the intention is for your child to recall and say the sounds aloud while using the sliders as an aid instead of just listening to the app say the sounds for them. Or, in some cases, you might use the sliders to model the sounds for your child. Research has consistently shown that educational apps are only truly effective for kids when adults use the apps with them, which is why Reading.com provides the curriculum and empowers the parent to be the teacher. If you're unsure how best to use the sliders, you can always review the Grownup Training Lesson before Lesson 1. Here's a video of our CEO modeling how to use the sliders with his own daughter.

Most sounds can be said slowly or fast. Slow sounds have a long blue slider and fast sounds have a short red slider. To use a slider, say the sound out loud while dragging the slider. When saying a slow sound, make sure to drag the slider slowly and stretch out the sound for about three seconds. 

Your child will also use sliders to blend letters together to read words starting in lesson four.