Newsela

Knowledge Constructor

Overview

Newsela is a database of current event stories organized by theme. Stories can be assigned to students according to their reading Lexile level. They are assessed with a short comprehension quiz and a writing prompt. Teachers can access data from student quizzes.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Be able to log onto their Newsela account.
Be able to read assigned story.
Be able to take the quiz assigned to the story.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Words:

Lexile Level: The Lexile level is the measure of how difficult a text is or a student's reading ability level.

Pre-planning

To prepare for this lesson:

The teacher will log onto Newsela.
Create a free account.
Under settings create a class.
Turn on Elementary.
Share class code or link with students.
Once the students join the class, the teacher can view class-level quiz results and track progress over time.
Watch How to Navigate Newsela.
Watch How to Use Newsela as a Student.
Look at the Lexile Reading Level Chart.

Accommodations

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students.net site in the Teacher Resources.

Steps

Directions for this activity:

Students log onto Newsela using the classroom code. There is an option to connect with Google.
Show the students the video Student directions for Newsela.
Have the student look at assignments that are on the page, front and center.
The new reading assignments will have a blue dot next to it.
Have the students complete writing prompts and comprehension questions.
Students can click on the library to find articles at their interest level.

Assessment Options

Different options for assessing the students:

Observations
Check for understanding
Newsela provides quizzes for assessing student comprehension.
Students are able to see their quiz results.

MITECS COMPETENCIES & ISTE STANDARDS

MITECS: Michigan adopted the "ISTE Standards for Students" called MITECS (Michigan Integrated Technology Competencies for Students) in 2018.

Knowledge Constructor
3a. Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
3b. Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
3c. Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
3d. Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.