FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO WE GET STARTED?
The first time you open The Reading Train, you will see the train station. From this screen, you can choose a book at Level A,B or C, go to the Music Store to listen to songs or visit the train yard to browse the dictionary.
HOW DO WE CHOOSE A BOOK LEVEL?
Tap Level A, B or C on the platform at the bottom of the screen. Level A books are "just right" for children who are learning their letters. Children who know letter names and sounds and a few sight words will be able to read Level B on their own. Children who can use sight words and initial letter sounds to read 2 or 3 simple sentences will enjoy Level C. If a child is unable to read many of the basic words in a book, try an easier level. Having your child make a recording of a book is a great way to find his or her reading level.
HOW CAN I CREATE A USER ACCOUNT?
Press the Back Button from the Train Station. Touch an empty crate with a + sign. You will enter the Train Yard Dictionary where your child can pick a picture icon. Type your child's name and choose "Yes". You may add as many children as you like. Children select their name from the train on the opening screen. Progress can be monitored on each child’s personal bookshelf and on the Grown Ups’ Page.
HOW CAN I DELETE A USER ACCOUNT?
Press the Back Button from the Train Station.
Select the Settings Cog in the upper left-hand corner. You will be asked to
double tap the correct shape. At the top of the page you will see all the User
Profiles. Select the name of the child you want to delete, then press the gray
Edit button on the right. You will then see a screen where you will be able to
edit the name, profile picture or delete the user. To delete, tap on the red
button. You will be asked to confirm. Press Cancel or Delete. There is a little
bug so the upper text says, “Are you sure you want to delete %@ from this app?”but the child’s name is down below so you will know you are deleting the correct user account. Unfortunately, you will lose all the recordings and stored data under this child’s name when you delete the user account.
HOW DO WE PLAY THE TRAIN QUIZ?
After your child reads a book, it will be time for the train game. The quiz is different every time, with matching, spelling, comprehension and sentence completion questions based on the content of each book. Children must answer 5 questions correctly to turn on the lights and earn a sticker and a coin for the Music Store. You can drag a crate to the Help Station to hear it spoken aloud. Hints and encouragements are provided to make sure every child is successful.
HOW CAN WE GO TO THE TRAIN DICTIONARY?
Tap on the train icon in the top corner of the train station. There you can view words alphabetically or by category. Tap the folder in the top corner to change between ABC and Category modes. Tap the picture to hear the word spoken. Tap the definition to hear it read aloud. The dictionary words can also be accessed from within each book.
HOW CAN WE LISTEN TO OR RECORD A SONG?
Tap on the Music Store to find the songbooks. You must pay one coin to listen to or record a song. Earn more coins by reading the books and playing the Train Game Quiz.
HOW DO I SEE HOW MY CHILD IS DOING?
You can view all the books that your child has read and recorded in two places: by tapping on the bookshelf icon in the Train Yard or on the Grown Ups’ page. Student reports can be accessed by tapping on a username on the upper right hand side of this screen. You can view quiz scores broken down by question type and book. You can also see how many times a book has been read along with the scores for that book. It is good to periodically check up on which books are difficult so children can re-read them. Data can be viewed by the week or for all time, which lets you keep up with the latest books read or take a bigger picture view of progress.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO HOLD THE WORDS TO HEAR THEM SPOKEN?
Beginning readers often need to track the words by pointing at them with a finger as they read. The "touch and hold" function is designed so that children are not confused by accidentally triggering the audio for every word. We realize this might cause problems for children with motor challenges so we are in the process of adding an accessibility setting to reduce the "hold" time and turn pages automatically in Listen mode. If your child has difficulty with holding the words, perhaps he or she will enjoy exploring the words on the Glossary Pages of the books or in the Train Yard Dictionary.
SHOULD MY CHILD ONLY READ AT ONE LEVEL?
With free access to all levels, and a variety of tools to help them succeed, there are many pathways to learning. Children are not restricted to any one level or topic, and can follow their interests. Tap to listen functionality and professional narration ensures that children can choose to listen, read and record themselves at the easier or harder levels.
DOES MY CHILD NEED TO READ THE BOOKS IN ORDER?
Reading research shows that children enjoy reading more and become better readers when they practice reading lots of easy, enjoyable books. The app is designed so that each book in a unit builds on the previous books, so it is good to work through each set of books in order. The books are all unlocked as the default setting but you can choose Read Books in Order in the settings. Kids love the thrill of unlocking the next book in the series. There is no particular order to the units, so kids at Level A can choose whether to begin with the alphabet, numbers, math, science or colors, for example. Many more units books are in the pipeline, so subscribers will have many choices. Children reading fluently at Level C may prefer to choose freely from all the books in the app.
CAN I GIFT MY CHILD MORE COINS?
Yes, we have added the option to give your child unlimited coins. Go to the Grown Ups page and select your child's name. Go to the Settings page (select tab on the right hand side) and turn the switch for Unlimited Music Coins. Every time you listen to a song you will get another coin.
I HAVE A QUESTION, COMMENT OR REQUEST THAT HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED.
Please email us with suggestions, questions and feedback. We will get back to you promptly: libby@readingtrain.org
Alternately, you can use this contact form to ask questions: