Newsela - Current Events at Different Reading Levels
An important part of being a good citizen is keeping up-to-date on current events. As adults, we use a variety of news sources to stay aware of what is going on in politics, education, business, and whatever other topics we are interested in. A great way to encourage this responsible behavior is to discuss current events in class, and give students practice reading the news.
However, our students have a wide range of reading abilities, and not all of them can read an article with the language density of the Wall Street Journal.
That's why I like Newsela. Newsela is an online news source that re-writes real, current news articles at several different reading levels. For example, this morning's article about the Tax Bill before congress:
Original Reading Level
Tax bill clears Senate in big boost for Trump, GOPWASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans muscled the largest tax overhaul in 30 years through the Senate early Saturday, taking a big step toward giving President Donald Trump his first major legislative triumph after months of false starts and frustration on other fronts.
"Just what the country needs to get growing again," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in an interview after a final burst of negotiation closed in on a nearly $1.5 trillion package that impacts the breadth of American society.
He shrugged off polls finding scant public enthusiasm for the measure, saying the legislation would prove its worth. "Big bills are rarely popular," he said. "You remember how unpopular 'Obamacare' was when it passed?"
Trump on Saturday tweeted his thanks to Senate and House Republicans as they now begin trying to reconcile differences in legislation passed by both chambers, a behind-closed-doors process that is expected to move swiftly. Trump is aiming to sign the tax package into law before Christmas. "Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate," he tweeted inaccurately. The overhaul is significant, but far from ...
Democrat-opposed Senate tax bill passes in dramatic 2 A.M. voteRepublicans passed the largest tax changes in 30 years through the Senate early Saturday. "Just what the country needs to get growing again," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. The bill is a nearly $1.5 trillion package that affects many parts of American society.
Republicans and Democrats don't agree about tax reform. Republicans want to lower taxes on the wealthy and businesses because they believe that the rich will then spread this money to the rest of society. Democrats don't like the plan because they think it is unfair to poor and middle-class people.
Not A Lot Of Enthusiasm Toward Bill
Some polls show that the public is not very enthusiastic about the bill, but McConnell isn't worried, saying the legislation would prove its worth. "Big bills are rarely popular," he said. "You remember how unpopular 'Obamacare' was when it passed?"
Trump on Saturday tweeted his thanks to Senate and House Republicans as they now begin...
640L Reading Level
Lawmakers in the Senate pass tax billLawmakers in the U.S. Senate passed a big tax bill over the weekend. Taxes are money people give to the government. They pay for things like roads, schools and playgrounds.
Republicans and Democrats are the main groups of politicians in America. They don't agree about tax changes. Republicans want to lower taxes on rich people and businesses. They believe that the rich will spread this money to other people. Democrats don't like the plan. They think it is unfair to poor and middle-class people. They believe this tax plan makes the lowest earners pay the most.
President Trump was happy that the Senate passed the bill. The bill is not a law yet, though. The U.S. Congress has two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives...
This particular article was posted on Newsela its original form, plus in 1190L, 1020L, 820L, and 640L levels. I've seen others that go as low as 350L. (These levels are the Lexile scale of reading level. I had to look it up 
) This wide range makes current events accessible to all high school students with any level of reading ability.
This is not just one of those resources that is "designed for middle school, but maybe usable in high school." I think this is more valuable at the high school level. I used to have trouble finding good news articles for, say, a class of 11th grade struggling readers that didn't read like a children's book. The differences between the original and the 1020L version of the tax article above, for instance, are subtle but important. So even though Newsela appeals to elementary and middle school teachers (some of their content is designed to max out at a 6th grade reading level), I think its real value is at the high school level.
Newsela offers articles on a wide range of topics. For example, headlines in today's library:
- Health: Later start times, less homework: Here’s what elite schools are doing to help students cope with stress
- Science: How to view supermoon as it makes its evening rounds on December 3
- Kids: Meet the 11-year-old girl who invented water-testing device
- Money: Smartphone Black Friday shopping sends record traffic to websites
Newsela has a permanent free tier which lets your students read articles at any reading level. They also have a staggeringly expensive PRO version, if you win the lottery, but the free version is definitely good enough to use all year long.
If you try Newsela and like it, let me know!
Cheers!
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