Screen-Free Reading Activities

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-29

Paper or screen: what did studies find?

Paper or screen? In our view, it depends on what your child reads and how.

Studies of readers without reading difficulties compared paper and screens (Delgado and colleagues, 2018; Clinton, 2019). For informational text read under time pressure, paper went better than a computer screen. For stories, and for reading at their own pace, there was no clear difference. On tablets and e-readers, the difference was not clear either. We could read only the summary of Clinton's 2019 review.

Informational text is text that teaches facts, like a book about sharks. Time pressure means the reader had to be quick. Reading at their own pace means the readers took as long as they liked.

In our view, these studies are not a reason to keep screens away. These ideas are for parents who want some time off them.

What about young children?

A 2021 review pooled 39 experiments with children aged 1 to 8 (Furenes and colleagues, 2021). A paper book read with an adult went better than a child alone with a digital book's features. Digital books whose extras fit the story went better than paper books. We could read only its summary.

The review looked at stories and new words. An adult sharing a digital book was not what it compared. Its summary does not say if any child found reading hard.

Reading a paper book together is the first idea on our list. The steps we give for it are our own practice. The review compared reading together only with a child alone using a digital book.

What about children with dyslexia?

One study gave 103 teenagers with dyslexia a small screen showing very short lines (Schneps and colleagues, 2013). Some read faster or understood more on it. Others did better on paper. Across the whole group, neither came out ahead. The screen showed about two words on each line. That is not like a usual e-reader page. All but one of the teens went to the same school. It was one study.

We hold no study comparing paper and screens in younger children with dyslexia. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding either way.

Screen-free reading activities to try

These ideas need no screen.

1. Read a paper book together. Sit side by side. Let your child turn the pages. Stop to talk about the pictures and the story.
2. Go to the library. Let your child pick some books. In our view, picture books, comics and fact books all count.
3. Let your child read to you. Pick a short book they chose. Listen. When your child misreads a word, point back to the sounds. Do not just say the word.
4. Read words in daily life. Read labels at the store and signs on the road. Read a recipe as you cook.
5. Make a reading spot. Put a basket of books by a chair or bed.

These steps are our own practice, not a tested method.

Do them alongside your child's reading instruction, not in place of it.

Reading aloud to your child

Reading aloud needs no screen. In our view, reading aloud to your child still matters while they learn to read. You can read books that are too hard for your child to read alone. Talk about the story as you go. Ask what they think will happen next.

In our view, read aloud for the story and the words, not as reading practice.

Sound and word games by ear

Sound games need no screen and no book. You play them by ear. Here are a few.

1. Rhyme. Say a word, like cat. Your child says a word that rhymes.
2. Clap the parts. Clap once for each part of a word: bas-ket.
3. First sounds. Say I spy something that starts with /m/.

The way we run these at home is our own practice. A US federal guide on early reading also uses rhyming and clapping word parts. It is not a guide to dyslexia. Our page on phonemic awareness activities has more.

In one study, preschool classes played sound games daily (Lundberg and colleagues, 1988). The games were structured, and they ran for 8 months. The children got better at hearing sounds in words. Their later reading and spelling were helped too. The study's summary does not say the groups were formed at random. We could read only its summary.

Such games are practice alongside reading instruction, not in place of it.

We hold no trial of board games or card games for reading. That is a gap in what we hold, not a finding that they do not help.

Nothing in the studies on this page tested a Learning Success program.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Reading well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about reading.
• Extreme upset about reading.
• Complete avoidance of reading.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.