As ELA teachers, we know that the Common Core Standards, or CCSS, push students to read and understand more informational text. Classroom magazines are a great idea and a wonderful resource, but sometimes they're dated by the time they even get to your classroom.
Enter NewsELA - a new site currently in beta. NewsELA offers current events articles for students in almost any grade level - third grade through twelfth. The site adds three new articles per day, so it is always current. While that is great to hear, I don't believe it's the best part.
NewsELA allows teachers to create a free account. Students can then register using your unique classroom code. Once students are registered, teachers can assign articles to each class. The best part of this site is the ability to customize reading levels and differentiate without searching for several different articles.
Enter NewsELA - a new site currently in beta. NewsELA offers current events articles for students in almost any grade level - third grade through twelfth. The site adds three new articles per day, so it is always current. While that is great to hear, I don't believe it's the best part.
NewsELA allows teachers to create a free account. Students can then register using your unique classroom code. Once students are registered, teachers can assign articles to each class. The best part of this site is the ability to customize reading levels and differentiate without searching for several different articles.
Once you find an article you'd like your students to read, you can choose the appropriate Lexile by simply clicking on the blue box to the right of the article. Don't use Lexile scores? No problem! Below the title, the site also provides a grade level. You can assign the same article in several different reading levels - challenge your advanced readers while you differentiate for your struggling readers. The photo stays the same, so at a quick glance, it looks as though everyone is reading the same article. No one is singled out.
Look at the sample articles below. They're the same article as the one pictured above. The article on the left is at third grade level. The article on the right is at twelfth grade level. (You can click on each image to view the entire article.)
Look at the sample articles below. They're the same article as the one pictured above. The article on the left is at third grade level. The article on the right is at twelfth grade level. (You can click on each image to view the entire article.)
What a great feature! I've not seen another website with this capability, but I can't wait to use it!
Another feature, though more common, is the ability to have students read an article and take a quiz. Several sites allow this, but the difference with NewsELA is that it links each article to one of the four CCSS Anchor standards in ELA. You can keep track of what you're asking kids to do with each article.
Overall, I think NewsELA is a site with great potential. They have some added features in the works, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. For a full review of this website, see my page about Informational Text. (Though I'm currently updating it.)
Let me know what you think of NewsELA. Promising new site or just another source of current events articles?
Another feature, though more common, is the ability to have students read an article and take a quiz. Several sites allow this, but the difference with NewsELA is that it links each article to one of the four CCSS Anchor standards in ELA. You can keep track of what you're asking kids to do with each article.
Overall, I think NewsELA is a site with great potential. They have some added features in the works, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. For a full review of this website, see my page about Informational Text. (Though I'm currently updating it.)
Let me know what you think of NewsELA. Promising new site or just another source of current events articles?