Build strong readers through joyful, free practice

Khan Academy Kids helps children ages 2–8 grow from first sounds to full stories with playful, research-backed reading and ELA activities—100% free and ad-free.

Get started—download the app!

Khan Academy Kids gives young children daily practice with the building blocks of reading, in one simple app:

Pre-reading skills
‍Kids play with sounds, rhymes, and letters to build phonemic awareness and alphabet knowledge.
Phonics and decoding
‍Step-by-step phonics lessons help children blend sounds, read simple words, and move into more complex patterns.
Vocabulary and language
‍Rich stories, songs, and conversations with our character friends build language, background knowledge, and oral expression.
Comprehension
‍Interactive stories and questions help kids make predictions, retell events, and connect books to their own lives.
Writing and spelling
‍Tracing, letter formation, word building, and simple writing tasks support early spelling and written expression.

All content is designed by early learning experts and aligns to key early literacy standards, so every minute supports real skill growth.

A rich library of books for every young reader

Khan Academy Kids includes a large library of books for children ages 2–8. Kids can explore stories on their own, read with a grown-up, or listen along with narration.

Our library includes:

Fiction and nonfiction stories about animals, science, friendship, and more
Early readers and decodable texts for children just starting to sound out words
Longer stories for kids who are ready for a bigger reading challenge

Personalized reading practice for every child

Every child’s reading journey is different. Khan Academy Kids adapts
to meet them where they are.

Two smiling kids using Khan Academy Kids app on tablet for interactive early learning games.

Just-right books and activities

The app adjusts to each child’s level, offering books and ELA activities that are not too easy and not too hard.

Read-to-me audio and word highlighting

Children can listen as the story is read aloud while each word is highlighted. This helps them match sounds to print and follow along.

Guiding characters that ask questions

Friendly characters pop in to ask simple questions, make comments, and cheer kids on. They model how to think and talk about books.

ELA support for teachers

Khan Academy Kids is more than a reading app — it’s a free classroom partner for Pre-K through 2nd grade teachers.

Phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension practice

Assign phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension activities that match what you’re teaching, and choose from thousands of lessons and books to build strong foundational skills.

Progress tracking and easy setup

See which students need more practice and who is ready for a challenge. Khan Academy Kids is simple to set up and works on tablets, Chromebooks, and phones in any classroom.

Standards-aligned reading lessons

Use ready-made, standards-aligned reading lessons for whole group, small group, or centers, so you can spend more time teaching and less time planning.

Access Teacher Tools at no cost

Explore our Quick Start Guide and start using Khan Academy Kids to supporting literacy skill growth in your classroom, today!

View Guide

A trusted, research-backed ELA partner for schools and districts

For schools and districts, Khan Academy Kids offers a scalable way to support early literacy in Pre-K–2.

Play-based, standards-aligned ELA instruction that fits into existing literacy blocks
Actionable data and dashboards to track usage and growth
Support for a wide range of learners, including emerging readers and multilingual students
Professional learning and implementation support to help teachers use the program with confidence

Because Khan Academy Kids is built by a nonprofit and designed with equity in mind, districts can expand access to high-quality early literacy without adding another high-cost program.

Explore School & District Partnerships

Proud to be a trusted name in early learning