Reading, Kindergarten to Grade 3
English phonics, one sound at a time
Reading is the English phonics tutor in Learning With Momo, an app for everyday words and phrases in 11 languages. It is made for children in Kindergarten to Grade 3, who work through 7 levels in short guided sessions and earn coins that build a treehouse. Grown-ups get a report they can print, with ideas to try at home.
What it teaches
Seven levels, from letter sounds to Bossy R
Reading teaches English phonics: the sounds letters make, and how to blend them into words. There are 7 levels with 81 phonics skills, plus sight words that turn up inside sentences. When you add a reader, you choose the starting level, and the skills in the levels below it are treated as ones your child probably knows already.
- Level 1: Kindergarten Letter sounds, for all 26 letters.
- Level 2: Early Grade 1 Short vowels: a, e, i, o and u. One-line sentences start at this level.
- Level 3: Grade 1 Two letters, one sound: sh, ch, soft th and buzzy th, wh, ck and ng, plus the double letters ll, ss, ff and zz.
- Level 4: Late Grade 1 Blends, where two consonants are said together: 23 skills.
- Level 5: Grade 2 Magic E, the silent e at the end of a word: 5 skills.
- Level 6: Late Grade 2 Vowel teams, where letters work together to make one vowel sound, such as ee, oa and igh: 9 skills.
- Level 7: Grade 3 Bossy R: ar, er, ir, or and ur. This is the top level.
Reading uses American English sounds and an American English (en-US) voice. The level names are US school grades, and the levels are not matched to any school curriculum.
Up to 7 steps
What happens in a session
Every session runs in the same order. Each question gets one retry, and after a second miss the answer is shown. Sessions stay short: after 8 minutes a session skips ahead to the balloon game and the reward, and after 10 minutes only the reward is left.
Warm-up
Up to 3 quick questions that ask which sound a word starts with, each with 3 tiles to choose from.
Meet the focus sound
The sound is shown in up to 2 words, tile by tile. Nothing is scored here.
Blend words
For up to 3 words: slide across the tiles, hear the word slowly and then at normal speed, pick its picture from 3, then read it aloud.
Read a sentence
From Level 2 up: tap a word to hear it, hold a word to see its sounds, listen to the sentence, then read it aloud.
Listen and pick
"Listen. Which word did I say?" Up to 5 rounds, each with 3 look-alike words.
Balloon game
Up to 6 balloons with 3 choices each. Balloons left alone float away and are not scored. With the device's reduced-motion setting on, they float for 16 seconds instead of 9.
Reward
The session ends with the coins it earned, then any new treehouse part or decoration, new stars, or a move to the next level.
How it adapts
It keeps track of what your child finds hard
The tutor adjusts with simple, fixed rules, not AI. Only tapped answers count toward a score, and some count more than others: picking the word your child hears counts fully, and popping a balloon counts half.
Finds the sound behind a mistake
In "Listen and pick", a word missed on both tries is traced to the sound that was misread, such as reading sh as s. Recent misreads help decide what comes up next.
Up to 2 focus skills a session
At most 1 is a new skill. The rest are the skills that most need work, ranked by low score, time since last practice and recent misreads.
Review over time
A skill counts as mastered when its running skill score, which weighs recent answers most, reaches 85 out of 100, after at least 6 weighted tries with no miss in the last 3. Mastered skills drift back into review over 21 days.
Moving up a level
A reader moves up when 80% of the skills that can be taught at that level are mastered, after at least 3 finished sessions at that level.
Rewards
Coins, stars and a treehouse
Coins reward effort as well as right answers, and they buy treehouse parts in a fixed order, as many as the coins and stars allow.
Coins for every finished step
Your child earns a coin for each finished step, right or wrong, up to 18 a session, then 3 more for finishing and 2 more for the first finished session of the day. Coins are never taken away.
Stars for new skills
Your child earns a star for each newly mastered skill and another for each level completed.
A treehouse that grows
Coins buy 12 treehouse parts automatically, in a fixed order, 245 coins in all. The roof also needs 2 stars and the telescope 5. Then come 8 decorations at 20 coins each, at most 1 per session.
Reading aloud
The microphone stays off until you turn it on
Reading aloud is part of the session. By default, your child reads out loud, taps the check mark and hears "Great reading!" A grown-up can turn the microphone on for each device in the Grown-ups area.
- With the microphone on, your child taps the mic to record. Recording stops once your child has spoken and then been quiet for 1.5 seconds, after 12 seconds, or with another tap.
- A meter shows how loud the voice is, and "Hear yourself" plays the take back as often as your child likes, until they tap Next.
- Recordings stay in the browser's memory. They are never uploaded or saved to a server, each new take replaces the last, and they are gone when the page reloads.
- No grades on the voice: there is no speech recognition and no pronunciation scoring, so reading aloud is practice with no pressure.
For grown-ups
A reading report you can print
The Grown-ups area sits behind a parent check: hold a button for 2 seconds, then answer a times-table question. It stays open for 10 minutes. Each reader's report shows:
- Their level, and how much of it is done
- This week: sessions, minutes, words sounded out, and how often they were right (second tries count)
- Stars so far, and sessions over the last 4 weeks
- New sounds this week
- Doing well with: up to 3 strengths
- Needs more practice: skills to work on, with the mistake behind each one when there is one, such as "Sometimes reads sh as s"
- Try these tonight: up to 3 activities to do at home
Brothers and sisters
Up to 6 readers on one account
Each child gets their own reader, with their own level and results.
Add a reader
A reader is a nickname (up to 16 characters), an animal and a starting level, set up in the Grown-ups area. The nickname is stored on our server with your account, so it can be a pet name rather than your child's real name.
Progress follows your account
Each reader's results are saved with your account, so your child can carry on from another phone, tablet or computer once you sign in. Signing out removes the readers from the device. A session not sent yet stays there until the same account signs in again.
Delete any time
You can delete a reader's results, a whole reader, or all reading data. Each one asks you to type DELETE first.
What Reading is, and what it is not
- English only. Reading stays in English whatever language your child learns in the rest of the app.
- For young children. Grade 3 is the top level, and Reading is not built for teens or adults.
- Words and sentences, not stories. There are 261 words and 67 one-line sentences, with no stories, passages or comprehension questions. The "frog story" button is a fixed demo, not a story to read, and it saves no progress and earns no coins.
- Sight words such as the, said and was appear inside sentences. They are not practised on their own.
- Pictures are emoji, not drawings.
- Every word has its own pre-made audio clip, at normal speed and slowed down, spoken by a clear AI (neural) voice.
- Most sound tiles play a key word for the sound, such as "like top", rather than the sound on its own. Only the 4 long vowels (ee, ay, oa, igh) have a sound clip, and it says the letter name.
FAQ
Questions parents ask about Reading
What age is Reading for?
Children in Kindergarten to Grade 3 who are learning to read in English. The levels end at Grade 3 with Bossy R, so it is not built for teens or adults. The Reading tile shows in all 3 age modes, so your child can open it whichever mode is set on the device.
Can my child read in French, Arabic or another language?
No. Reading is English only, with American English sounds and an American English (en-US) voice. It stays in English whatever language your child picks in the rest of the app.
Does the app check my child's pronunciation?
No. There is no speech recognition and no pronunciation scoring. Reading aloud is practice: "Great reading!" plays whatever your child says. Scores come only from tap answers.
Is my child's voice recorded or uploaded?
It is never uploaded. The microphone stays off until a grown-up turns it on for that device. When it is on, a take is kept only in the browser's memory so your child can play it back. The next take replaces it, and reloading the page clears it.
What is saved about my child?
Each reader's nickname, animal, level and reading results are saved under your account, so progress follows you to another device. Usage statistics, such as scores and misread sounds, are also kept under your account email. They never include a child's nickname. You can delete a reader's results, a reader, or all reading data at any time.
How many children can use it?
Up to 6 readers on one account. Each child has their own level, results and printable report.
How long is a session?
Every session has a time cap. At 8 minutes, any steps still waiting before the balloon game are dropped, and at 10 minutes your child goes straight to the reward. If you stop early, the coins from every finished step are kept, without the bonus for finishing.
Does it work offline?
Partly. Reading is not part of the app's Save offline download. Once Reading has been used online on a device, it is kept there, and each audio clip is saved the first time it plays, so offline, a word or sentence not heard before is spoken by the device's own voice. Offline use works for up to 7 days after the last membership check, then it asks you to connect. Sessions done offline wait on the device (up to 100, for up to 60 days) and are sent when you reconnect.
Which devices does it work on?
It runs in a modern web browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and you can add it to your home screen. The layout is designed for tablets first, works down to small phone screens, and uses large touch targets. Recording needs microphone permission and a browser that supports recording.
Does it use AI?
The voice is a clear AI (neural) voice. The tutor chooses what to practise with fixed rules, not AI. Nothing your child says is checked or scored: with the microphone on, the app only measures how loud the voice is, on the device, to move the meter and know when to stop recording.
What does it cost?
Reading comes with the same account as the language app. New accounts start with a 90-day free trial, no card needed. After the trial, membership is set up by hand on request. Planned prices are coming soon.
More in Learning With Momo
For kids
Little Explorer (2 to 5) and Big Kid (6 to 12): what each age mode shows.
Learn moreFor families
One account for every age mode, and the "I speak" helper for parents who speak another language.
Learn moreSpeaking practice
Listen, record and hear yourself back, in every age mode, Little Explorer included.
Learn morePricing
How the trial works, and the prices we plan to offer.
Learn more
Start reading with Momo
Create an account for a 90-day free trial, no card needed. Then open Reading, add a reader and pick a starting level.