Listening To Podcasts Can Help Children With Reading

Findings from the National Literacy Trust have shown that listening to podcasts can help children to learn new things, providing access to a wide range of topics. As well as this, they can help to foster an interest in these topics that then translates to more reading.

The research report from the National Literacy Trust shows that more children who listen to podcasts enjoy reading than those who do not listen to podcasts. As well as this, more children who listen to podcasts read daily than those who do not listen to podcasts.

When a child struggles with reading, then can find it hard to learn new things, or to become interested in new topics. If they are first introduced to a new topic by an exciting and engaging podcast, their interest is piqued already and they may be more inclined to persevere with a book covering the same kind of topic.

Here are some great podcasts to get you started...

Wow in the World

Wow in the World is an American podcast which covers a wide range of topics from animals to space and anything in between. The hosts have a way of presenting that can really appeal to many children, providing information and entertainment in a clever format.

BBC 500 Words

The BBC 500 Words competition seems to have come to an end, but the old podcasts are still available, and there is a huge range of different stories available, all written by children and introduced by presenters Dick and Dom.

What If World

In this podcast, children send in "what if" questions, and each week the presenter chooses a question and turns it into a story. This is a great way of encouraging children to think creatively and to come up with their own ideas.

Brains On

Brains On is a science podcast for children that presents science in a relatable and understandable way. Recent episodes have looked at how vaccines work and why siblings annoy each other!

The Past & The Curious

This podcast features fun and interesting stories from history told with humour. It's both amusing and informative, covering stories children probably won't have heard in history lessons, but which may then provoke an interest in a particular person, place or event.

How and where to listen to podcasts

Podcasts are becoming morme and more accessible these days. Many are available through music apps such as iTunes and Spotify. If you want to listen to a particular podcast you can usually listen via the website for that show. 

If you are using an Apple device, there is an Apple podcasts app which you can download.

For Android users, there is the Google podcasts app which you can search for in the Play Store.

There's also the BBC Sounds app which provides the vast range of BBC podcasts available for both adults and children.

Many podcast apps will allow you to download episodes so that they can be listened to without the device being connected to the Internet.