Newsela: Read carefully. Think critically. Be worldly. ... Reading Comprehension + Current Events.

(Originally posted November 21, 2014 on Greenwood 50's Technology Leaders and Coaches In Action! blog at: http://kidblog.org/stls/823673c8-64ee-4e47-81b0-aca3e1d5b807/newsela-for-nonfiction-reading-comp-current-events/ )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Each of my goals as School Technology Leader revolve around technology integration and helping teachers embed technology in their classrooms.  One strategy I've identified in accomplishing this goal is to lead by modeling technology in my library classroom.

In writing lesson plans this past week, I focused my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade lessons around Newsela - the Web 2.0 tool I recently featured in a tech tips for classroom integration newsletter.  What I've learned is that, when you put technology in a student's hands, they will take it, run with it, and more often than not, find that they enjoy doing things and accomplishing skills they might not enjoy nearly as much (or at all) in a more traditional format.

The simple act of putting the technology in their hands is the best springboard to active learning. And Newsela is the perfect example to illustrate that theory.



Newsela and Newsela Elementary are free Web 2.0 tools that presents a current events/news platform with leveled nonfiction reading and assessment quizzes to meet all Common Core ELA reading standards.  As a teacher, you simply sign up for a free account (or a free Pro trial) and create your virtual classroom.  Since Newsela is geared towards students in grades 3-12, I decided to use it in my elementary library with grades 3-5 as a tool to gauge nonfiction reading skills as well as provide practice honing those skills.



One of the true beauties of Newsela is in it's search capabilities.  When you begin searching for articles to assign to your class, you not only have the traditional search parameters (category, keyword, grade level) but you also have the ability to filter those results to only include articles with quizzes attached.  Even further, you can choose the Common Core ELA Standard you want the quiz to test!  Quizzes are available that focus on what the text says; the central idea; people, events, and ideas; word meaning and choice; text structure; point of view and purpose; multimedia; and arguments and claims.

Basically, you can personalize Newsela to fit the needs of your students so that they gain purposeful practice on skills they need to improve while exploring current events and having meaningful conversation about global issues in the news.



What I found with my classes was that students not only completed the articles I had assigned, but many also used remaining class time to search for more articles that they were interested in reading for pleasure as well as for information.  Students also liked being able to instantly see their scores and track their progress in the "Binder" tab.  Newsela worked beautifully with each of the three grade levels and proved to be engaging and challenging.

One of the many advantages to classroom teachers is that Newsela is a Web 2.0 tool that can be used from desktops, laptops, iOS and Android devices, or any device with web browsing capabilities.

Once the virtual classroom is set up and articles are assigned, teachers can allow students to access the site on their classroom computers/laptops as time allows.  Just assigning one to two articles per week gives students meaningful, engaging, purposeful, and relevant educational activity for extra class time or center time, that is richly embedded in technology and offers reading comprehension practice and assessment as well as a platform for current events conversation and discussion.  It's a win/win for students and teachers.

To set-up/use Newsela go to Newsela at https://newsela.com or scan the QR code below:

Click "Sign Me Up" in the top left corner, choose "I'm a Teacher", complete the simple registration, and create your classes in the "Settings" tab on the top menu bar.  Newsela generates a "Sign Up Code" which students need in order to create an account and join the class.  The sign up code is all they need.  Registration DOES NOT require an email account.  To make things even easier for my students, I printed a brief sheet of instructions which included the QR code to get to Newsela and the class sign up code and placed a sheet on each table.


After your class is set up, simply use the search options to locate and assign articles.  After your students have registered with their specific class code, you are able to see each student and follow their progress, including the articles they have completed and their corresponding scores on those articles.  You can also access and review overall class progress.




I found Newsela to be a wonderful tool for incorporating current events, promoting nonfiction reading, and strengthening reading comprehension skills.  I hope you'll give it a try!

Reading Comprehension with Inference Ace

(Originally posted Nov. 7, 2014 on the Greenwood 50's Technology Leaders and Coaches In Action! blog at: http://kidblog.org/stls/823673c8-64ee-4e47-81b0-aca3e1d5b807/inference-ace/ )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



One of my goals as School Technology Leader and media specialist is to explore new technology options for curriculum integration.  To do so most effectively, I know I need to explore and experiment with technologies within the library information literacy curriculum as related to curriculum standards.  This past week I did just that with an iOS app created to help students with reading comprehension and deep reading by allowing specific and targeted practice with making inferences

Inference Ace is available for the iPad in both free and paid versions.  The free version I used allows students to complete 4 levels at 10 questions per level. The first level questions deal with when; the second level, where; the third, what; and the fourth, who.


I was impressed with the app because it builds reading comprehension skills in a fun, game-like format, which typically appeals to students at all applicable grade levels.  I used Inference Ace with my 3rd and 4th grade classes this week after a brief review of "Making Predictions" and a focused lesson on "Inference."  The questions were challenging for some of the third graders, but not so challenging that they could not complete them successfully when they concentrated or were given guided assistance.  The fourth grade classes enjoyed the app even more and were still challenged by the questions, though I did have a few students who successfully made it through all 4 levels with very few missed questions.

Overall, the lesson and the use of the technology versus any kind of written worksheet or practice was a great success.  As a matter of fact, since teaching these classes earlier this week, I have had students on other grade levels ask if they were going to be able to use the same app in their class!

Next week I intend on reviewing inference with third grade, in order to emphasize the importance of the skill and allow them to practice with the app again, as well as possibly move on to Inference Ace 2, which is more challenging.  Fourth graders will review and advance to Inference Ace 2.  In addition to those classes, I will be reviewing inference with my fifth grade students this week and having them begin with Inference Ace and then move on to Inference Ace 2 if they successfully complete the first 4 levels.

Being able to successfully make inferences and use deductive thinking while reading is such an important reading skill to propel comprehension and understanding.  While quiz-like apps such as Inference Ace and Inference Ace 2 might not always be preferable to creation apps, in this case I think Inference Ace was both appropriate and successful in illustrating to students what it means to make inferences by isolating the skill in short, succinct questions.

So in this instance of purposefully exploring and experimenting with technologies to enhance curricular content and practice, I feel I succeeded, which means, of course, that my students succeeded.  And that is always my goal.