SmartingaLearning to read in Dutch at home, at your child's level
Children in the Netherlands learn to read in groep 3, around the age of six. Practising at home helps, even if you speak little Dutch yourself. Smartinga gives your child short Dutch stories at just the right level: with words they can already read, drawings that help, and a voice that reads aloud wherever it is needed.
Try it freeSeven levels, from listening to reading well
Smartinga has over 230 stories of its own, spread over seven levels. A young child starts with Luisteren (listening): the app reads aloud and the child follows along. Then come the first words, short sentences and longer and longer stories. Each level roughly matches an AVI level, the reading levels Dutch schools use:
- Luisteren (listening): read aloud, groep 1–2.
- Niveau 1 Eerste woorden (first words): groep 3, about AVI Start.
- Niveau 2 Korte zinnen (short sentences): groep 3, about AVI Start to M3.
- Niveau 3 Leren lezen (learning to read): groep 3, about AVI E3.
- Niveau 4 Vlot lezen (reading fluently): groep 4, about AVI M4 to E4.
- Niveau 5 Lezen om te leren (reading to learn): groep 5–6, about AVI M5 to E6.
- Niveau 6 Goed lezen (reading well): groep 7–8, about AVI M7 to Plus.
The AVI levels are a guide. The stories keep to rules for words and sentences that suit each level, but this is not an official AVI assessment.
Words your child can already read
At the first levels the stories only use words that are spelt as they sound, such as vis (fish), maan (moon) and roos (rose). Consonant clusters, long words and borrowed words come later. So from the very start your child reads real little stories, without words they have not learnt yet.
Tap, listen, split and blend
If your child does not know a word, they tap it. Smartinga says the word and shows a short explanation, usually with a picture. Up to Niveau 3 it also splits the word into its sounds and blends them back together. Your child can have a whole sentence or page read aloud, slowly too. Words they save come back later for review, until they stick. With the English help switched on, a tapped word or sentence also shows its English meaning.
After the story: a few questions
After a story, Smartinga asks one or more short questions about what happened. Up to Niveau 3 the app reads the questions aloud. So your child practises a little reading comprehension straight away, without it becoming a test: there is no mark and no clock.
What you see as a parent
In the parents' area you see which stories your child read, which words they often tapped and which story Smartinga suggests next, with the reason. The words tapped most often are good words to practise together. The parents' area is in Dutch.
Questions about learning to read
Which level suits my child?
Look at the AVI level the school mentions and choose the level that roughly matches it, or look at the year group: in groep 3 your child starts at Niveau 1, 2 or 3, in groep 4 at Niveau 4. If it is too easy or too hard, move the level one step up or down in the parents' area.
Does my child need to be able to read already?
No. At Luisteren (listening) the app reads the stories aloud while your child follows along. At the reading levels too, your child can have every story read aloud: they choose whether to read or to listen.
How long is a story?
At Niveau 1 each page has one short sentence with a picture. The higher the level, the more sentences on a page and the longer the story.
The first story is ready
Try Smartinga free for 14 days, with every story at every level.
Try it free