Newsela is an innovative way to build reading comprehension with nonfiction that’s always relevant: daily news. It’s easy and amazing.

I was introduced to Newsela about a year ago by a colleague, and have used it with my ELA 20s. This is a great resource to supplement literature study, but also as a stand alone nonfiction genre. Newsela is categorized into the following text sets:

• Spanish
• Science
• Literature
• Social
• State
• Election Issues (US)

Under the literature category, there are text sets based on literary works. For example under Romeo and Juliet the set includes nonfiction articles like “Age-old tradition means Afghan grooms grow old saving up to wed” and “China asks: Are its young men manly enough?”. These articles supplement the Shakespearean play nicely and are geared towards students.

Another feature of this resource is varied reading levels. Every article is available at 5 levels; same content, but at different reading levels, which is perfect for differentiation in the classroom. I have yet to try out the annotation or the collaboration portion, but on first glance, these features look good.

You can access the articles without an account, however you can sign up for free as an educator or a learner. There is a Newsela PRO option, which has a cost associated with it. You have to go through a 15 minute demo to see the benefits of pro vs the regular one.

I find students are more engaged reading non-fiction, and feel this resource is great for all grade levels and a variety of subjects.