Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Small library of multimedia texts has value but needs work.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
WhizRead
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
To enter WHIZREAD, parents must create an account by providing a username, password, email address, and full name (kids over 13 years of age can create their own account). After parents verify their email address, they can log in and choose a reading level -- from K - 6th grade -- to browse passages. Choose from the list of non-fiction text passages and start reading. Adjust the font type and size or search the text for particular words. Tap on words or phrases to see additional content such as definitions, pictures, or videos. Tap the audio button to hear the text read aloud, or take a comprehension quiz when you're done reading. Download texts to add them to your library. Request an access code to upload or compose customized passages, which then get linked to definitions, pictures, videos, and a read-aloud option.
Is It Any Good?
The idea of directly linking resources to help with comprehension turns out to be a bit better in theory than in delivery in this collection of reading material. There's certainly potential for an app that gives kids a variety of ways to understand text and give it meaning. The option that allows users to link their own text to these enhancement features is pretty cool (when and if it works). However, WhizRead feels like an app that could benefit from some additional development. It seems as though the pictures, videos, and audio links are chosen through a search engine rather than an actual person. This results in some odd choices. For example, "North America" is linked to a one-hour long NOVA documentary and an audio track of running water. There is a limited number of included passages, and though they are mostly well matched to their target reading level, they're of variable quality. The computer-generated voice is an easily accessible option for reading text out loud but unfortunately sounds awkward. With so many linked resources, they end up being a potential distraction from the business of actually reading. Finally, though WhizRead is fairly well laid out, some navigation -- such as when kids finish a quiz, or when they want to download a text -- is a bit unwieldy. As a free resource, WhizRead may prove useful for some kids, but needs some improvement to really shine.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what kids learn from the text passages in WhizRead. Read the passage first and then go back to look at the pictures and watch the videos. If a topic interests them, help your kids research it to find out more.
Provide as many opportunities for your kids to read as you can, on and off the screen. Encourage them also to read out loud and listen as they read.
Involve your kids in creating their own passages to upload. What do they want to write about? How do you find accurate information?
App Details
- Device : iPad
- Subjects : Language & Reading : reading , reading comprehension , text analysis , vocabulary , Social Studies : historical figures , history
- Pricing structure : Free
- Release date : February 28, 2019
- Genre : Education
- Topics : History
- Publisher : Vizread LLC
- Version : 1.9.3
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 9.0 or later
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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