Modulo

Starfall

Recommended Ages

K–5th grades

Many early reading sites feel cluttered or ad-heavy, which can be tough on young learners and neurodivergent kids. Starfall has long been a calm, phonics-forward alternative, offering simple games, songs, and stories that guide children from letter recognition through early reading and basic math. Originally launched as a free nonprofit project to help kids learn to read, Starfall has grown into a trusted resource for pre-K through early elementary, with both free content and a low-cost membership option. We love its clear, decodable texts, gentle pacing, and the way it blends phonemic awareness with engaging visuals and music. It’s ideal for ages roughly 3–8, especially children who benefit from consistent, predictable routines and straightforward interfaces. Families wanting a full, scripted curriculum will need to add more explicit instruction, but Starfall works beautifully as a daily phonics and reading supplement. Pro tip: work through the “Learn to Read” sequence in order and occasionally print out related worksheets so kids can connect on-screen skills with paper-and-pencil practice.

Ideal for preschoolers and early elementary children just learning letter sounds and simple phonics, especially visual and auditory learners who enjoy songs, bright colors, and simple games.

Pros

Nonprofit, ad‑free platform built around phonics‑based learn‑to‑read games, songs, and stories, now expanded to include math and language arts through about 3rd grade; multi‑sensory design (see, hear, click) supports early readers and many kids with learning differences; widely used as a secular supplement or gentle PreK–1st grade curriculum in homeschool circles. 

Cons

Geared primarily to early elementary—older kids may find the animations babyish; reading and math paths are somewhat linear and can feel repetitive over time; the program offers limited writing, spelling, and deep comprehension work, so most families pair it with other language arts resources.

Starfall sells home and school memberships directly and accepts school purchase orders; whether a specific ESA or charter will reimburse a home membership depends on local rules, but many treat it as an allowable online literacy or math resource. 

Free or $35/year for a homeschool membership

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Starfall
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Skills

What kids will learn
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Early Learning
Early Learning
Reading
Reading
Math
Math
ELA
ELA

Starfall Mission

Starfall’s mission as a nonprofit is to create free and low‑cost experiences where children learn to read and practice math through exploration, play, and positive reinforcement. The platform is built so emergent readers, English language learners, and elementary students can build confidence in a colorful, game‑like environment at school or at home.

Starfall Story

Starfall.com launched in 2002 after physicist and publisher Dr. Stephen Schutz, who had struggled to learn to read as a child due to dyslexia, set out to build the kind of supportive, multisensory reading experience he wished he’d had. Working with educators—including his wife, former teacher and poet Susan Polis Schutz, and their son Jared Polis—he expanded Starfall from a free early reading site into a full pre‑K and kindergarten language‑arts curriculum and later into math and grades 1–5, eventually transitioning it into the Starfall Education Foundation, a publicly supported 501(c)(3) social enterprise.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Starfall

In a typical Starfall session, a young child taps into the ABCs, hears lively songs for each letter, clicks words to hear them read, and watches simple animations, while older kids might work through phonics readers, math games, or seasonal activities with bright visuals and friendly voices.

Starfall is an online platform and app focused on early reading, phonics, and basic math through interactive songs, stories, and games for roughly pre‑K through 5th grade. Families can use the free content or purchase a home membership to unlock the full library and then schedule short daily sessions as part of their literacy and numeracy blocks. 

Parents of preschoolers usually sit alongside to sing, point to letters, and reinforce sounds, while K–2 children can often navigate independently with occasional help; some families pair Starfall with print phonics or math curricula as extra practice.

No academic prerequisites are required; many children start Starfall before formal schooling, though basic mouse or touch‑screen skills are helpful.

Starfall’s phonics‑based games are widely used for emergent readers, including kids with dyslexia, language delays, or ADHD, thanks to strong audio supports and clear visuals. It’s most effective when paired with offline phonics, handwriting, and read‑alouds rather than used as a stand‑alone reading program.

Starfall includes some early numeracy games alongside its reading content, and the visuals and gentle pacing can support preschool and early-elementary children who are anxious about numbers. It doesn’t go very deep conceptually and isn’t designed around dyscalculia research, so I’d use it only as a light, fun supplement rather than as a main intervention for dyscalculia.

Starfall is an early-reading platform built around systematic phonics, decodable text, audio support, and engaging animations; it was founded by an educator with dyslexia and is widely recommended for young struggling readers. Kids can hear sounds and words read aloud while seeing the print, which reinforces phonemic awareness and decoding without overwhelming them.

Starfall’s phonics games were designed with multisensory, untimed activities where kids see, hear, and click through skills practice, which can be reassuring for children who need extra time and control over sensory input.

Often helpful for young 2e kids, especially early readers with dyslexia or ADHD. Short, interactive activities and read‑aloud options reduce pressure; just treat it as one tool among many, not a full curriculum.

Starfall includes some early numeracy games alongside its reading content, and the visuals and gentle pacing can support preschool and early-elementary children who are anxious about numbers. It doesn’t go very deep conceptually and isn’t designed around dyscalculia research, so I’d use it only as a light, fun supplement rather than as a main intervention for dyscalculia.

Starfall is an early-reading platform built around systematic phonics, decodable text, audio support, and engaging animations; it was founded by an educator with dyslexia and is widely recommended for young struggling readers. Kids can hear sounds and words read aloud while seeing the print, which reinforces phonemic awareness and decoding without overwhelming them.

Starfall allows members to cancel and request a full refund within 30 days of purchase for direct web memberships; app‑store subscriptions follow Apple or Google Play rules, with refunds generally available only through those platforms’ processes and limited time windows. 

Less useful as a main program beyond about 2nd or 3rd grade or for kids who dislike animated characters and songs; families seeking a rigorous, fully fleshed‑out language arts curriculum with grammar and writing will need more than Starfall alone.

For other secular early‑reading options, families often combine Starfall with programs like Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, Logic of English Foundations, or All About Reading, plus library books and read‑alouds. 

Over time, Starfall has expanded from a simple learn‑to‑read site to a broader K–5 language arts and math platform and added an accessible index for children with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments, plus mobile apps with offline access. 

Let younger kids explore the free Starfall content first; if they’re engaged, upgrade to a low‑cost membership and build a simple routine (for example: 10 minutes of Starfall, then 10 minutes of reading printed books together).

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Meet Stephen

Dr. Stephen Schutz is a physicist and publisher who earned his PhD in theoretical physics from Princeton after overcoming significant childhood reading challenges linked to dyslexia. Co‑founder of greeting‑card company and e‑card site Blue Mountain Arts, he later channeled his design, business, and personal experience as a late reader into creating Starfall, a nonprofit educational platform now recognized with awards such as TIME’s list of top websites and PCMag’s “Best for Elementary School Reading and Math.”