Newsela Helps Make Reading the Most Powerful Learning Tool. 

Reading is one of the most powerful learning tools we have. It is also one of the greatest barriers when it comes to our students who struggle. Students who have difficulty reading often cannot access the curriculum they need in order to learn. Newsela is one of those magical tools that makes it possible for struggling students to hang in there with the class in a way that empowers them, instead of belittling them. I can remember being in elementary school and we had reading groups. It was very clear who were the great readers (the barracuda group) and who were the not so great readers (the minnows). I'm glad to see that those days are over but teachers still struggle with how to get content to our students in a way that they will understand.

Newsela  is a website that has a huge collection of current events articles from real sources like the Associated Press and Washington Post. Each article can be adjusted to 5 different reading levels. The students can select the level, or language, that is most comfortable for them. The content is the same.The articles come with eye catching photos and it shows you how many times the article has been assigned. The article also has grade level information and the word count. Students are able to adjust the reading level right their on  their own  screen. There is also an easy print option. 

Newsela is free and works seamlessly with Google Classroom. They also offer professional development webinars on literacy in addition to supports and resources for teachers. In addition to the latest news, you can search the Newsela library for content-specific articles. The students are in control of the reading level and the content doesn't change so even your minnows will be able to chime in during class discussions and activities.

When you sign up as a teacher, you can either create a class or import from Google Classroom. Newsela also allows you to create text sets or choose from the ones that are already created. This way, you can offer your students a whole group of articles to choose from. This will help you get some instructional time back if you were planning on having students search  on their own. There are even activities included where you can have students write by responding to a prompt, or take a short quiz.

Do you  already use Newsela? Write in the comments feature below and let me know how you have been using it!