An app for English homework — the reading and spelling, actually checked
You can read your child’s English homework. What you can’t do is sit beside them every night and catch every word they get wrong. Zen Reader does that part, and tells you what it found.
An app for English homework that listens to the reading, marks the spelling list from your child’s own handwriting, and reports back — so “how was reading?” has an answer better than “fine”.
What it does with a week’s English homework
- Reading aloud, checked. Import the reader as a PDF or photograph a paper one. Your child reads it aloud and every word is marked right, misread, skipped or added, with a score for the page and the recording kept beside it.
- The spelling list, practised and tested. Scan the list the school sent home. Three ways to practise, then a dictation test: the app says each word, your child writes it on paper, and a photograph of the page gets marked word by word.
- Word lists and sight words. The same list as flash cards, a card game, and a test that listens to your child say each one.
- The worksheet they are stuck on. Photograph it and the app walks them through it with hints — not answers. You choose how far it is allowed to go.
b/d/p/q — the reversals, tracked
Because Zen Reader is marking a photograph of your child’s actual handwriting rather than something they typed, it notices the b/d/p/q/g and 3/5/6/9 flips that are normal up to about age 7–8. It tells you which letters to work on and whether it is improving over time, and there is a drill that practises one letter at a time. Nothing in that drill is scored or saved — it is practice, not another test.
What you get to see
- A score for each reading, and every word marked right, misread, skipped or added.
- The recording, so you can hear the words that went wrong yourself.
- The photograph of the spelling test, kept with the marks.
- Which letters were reversed, and whether that is improving.
- The same list over time, so the words that keep coming back are obvious.
Where it stops, deliberately
The worksheet help gives hints, not answers, and you set the limit — hints only, hints then reveal, or explain the concept. The reading and spelling are your child doing the work and the app marking it. It is there to tell you how the week actually went, and to give your child a patient listener on the nights you are cooking dinner.
English, and Chinese, in one app
Reading and spelling are marked in Chinese and English today, on one family library, so a household with a child in each does not need two apps. Malay and Tamil are not supported yet.
The rest of the homework, too
Zen Reader is one app. Whichever part of the week brought you here, the others are in the same place, on the same family library.
- Chinese reading, checkedAn app that listens to your child read and marks every character.
- Chinese spelling and 听写The week’s list practised, tested, and their handwriting marked.
- Chinese homeworkWorksheets, reading and lists — guided, marked and reported in English.
- Flash cardsCharacters and sight words as cards, a card game, then a test that listens.
- Mother tongue and language helpWhich languages are covered, and which are not.
Questions about English homework
Does it listen to my child read English aloud?
Yes. Your child reads the page aloud and Zen Reader marks every word - right, misread, skipped or added - and gives the page a score. You get the recording and the marks, so you can hear the words they stumbled on rather than being told it went fine.
How does it mark an English spelling list?
Scan the list the school sent home, or type it. Your child can practise it three ways, then sit a dictation test: the app says each word, your child writes it on paper, you photograph the page, and each word is marked against the list.
Will it just do my child’s homework for them?
No, and it is built not to. The worksheet help offers hints rather than answers, and you set how far it may go - hints only, hints then reveal, or explain the concept. The reading and spelling work is your child doing the work and the app marking it.
My child writes b and d the wrong way round. Does it catch that?
Yes. Because it is looking at your child’s own handwriting it notices the b/d/p/q/g and 3/5/6/9 flips that are normal up to about age 7-8, tells you which letters to work on and whether it is improving, and offers a drill that practises one letter at a time. Nothing in that drill is scored or saved.
Does it do Chinese as well, or only English?
Both. Reading and spelling are marked in Chinese and English today. Malay and Tamil are not supported yet.
What if the marking gets a word wrong?
You can overrule any mark, and your correction is what the report shows. You can also re-run the marking on a clearer photo, or on just the part of the page you meant.
Find out how this week’s reading actually went
Windows, Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac — one family library, synced. Every plan starts with a free 14-day trial.