Students are presented with current events on a variety of informational subjects that are not only interesting but relevant to current media. Students can search topics and find material to read that connects to their personal interests. For example, for our first week, we read an article about a new research study that suggests middle school "cool kids" don't thrive in adulthood. Last week we read about the controversy over Sea World San Diego's new whale tank.
The absolute genius of the website is that all articles are leveled to correspond to lexile reading levels. So conceivably students in your classroom could all access the same story/content, but at their own independent reading levels.
As a teacher-subscriber you are e-mailed daily content to preview for lessons. Plus you get a weekly article to share with students. It’s not clear to me just yet if the coordinator at my site is picking our weekly topic based upon the weekly emails or if NewsELA picks our weekly topic, but either way, teachers receive a daily feeds and can select a weekly story to use with their class which arrives in a Word format. Each article includes 2 questions that encourage students to read closely and cite from the text using a constructed response format.
Teachers can choose a single lexile level to use with the whole class or select from multiple lexiles if greater differentiation is needed. All you need to do is run the copies! Seriously, it’s pure gold.
That said, I shared in my previous post that I have
constructed a technique to use these little weekly gems in my Language Arts
ISN. For me, I really want to put material in the Interactive Notebooks to
ensure that student not only do the work, but also have a resource for
reference in the future. So here’s what I did.
This is what I get in my weekly lesson – a four page
document that includes a 2 page news article and 2 pages of questions which includes
an IVF/summary & two text specific questions for student short answer
constructed response:
I copy the article front to back but the back MUST print
upside down. This is essential for affixing the article into the ISN but not
sacrificing content or forcing the student to turn their books upside down when
reading and annotating.
When I hand out my articles, I show students how to glue
them into their ISNs so that they are useable. Then we bifold the article so
that it fits into the ISN without hanging out. The article is glued into the
RIGHT (Teacher Input) side of the ISN.
When glued in this way, the document easily flips back and
leaves the lined paper free for adding notes or content. Personally, I am
having my students do margin notes when annotating their document and using
this page to do a Step Up to Writing IVF and Summary. Since there is limited
room to write a summary, I show them how to add paper to the bottom of the
page.
The LEFT side of the page is then freed up to use as the
student output page. Remember those nifty questions? This is where I use those.
I have students copy the questions into their ISNs and respond on this page.
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| Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate this image in Blogger. |
When it’s all said and done, this is what you get a nifty two page activity that addresses both close reading & informational text!
Now, this seems like a lot at first, but honestly it isn’t.
Here’s how I make it work for me and my students. The first time I introduce a
NewsELA article I am strategic about using an easy lexile whole class that will ensure
comprehension for the vast majority of my students. I want it to be an easy
read so I can train my students in the expectations for the activity.
WEEK 1 - First Exposure to NewsELA - Direct Instruction "I DO/YOU DO"
On day one, I spend a whole class
period explicitly teaching how to set up the ISN pages. We go slow and I explain why
we are doing it this way and tell students that they will eventually be expected to do this on
their own each week.
On the second day, we do a cold read and our first warm read
where we annotate the text. Students learn my expectations about annotating
text.
On the third day I teach IVFs and finding the main ideas. We
complete the IVF box, write an IVF topic sentence, and pick 3-4 main ideas that
we felt were relevant to the text. Their homework that evening is to write a
summary.
On the fourth day I have pre-prepared 3 sample summaries
based upon our story. The examples are my mock-up of a low, mid, and high level
summary. We decide as a class which seems to do a good job and deconstruct the
summary model.
On the fifth day of the first week I show them how to give a
constructed response using citations from the text. I tell them that I want one
direct quote and one indirect quote. Each of the 2 questions must have one or
the other and they have to show both each week. So, if they use a direct quote
in question one, they must use an indirect quote in question two.
WEEK 2 - Slow Release to Independence - Direct Instruction - I DO/WE DO
Now they have a working model of what I expect each week.
The next week on the Monday I spend about 15 minutes helping the class set up
their ISN page. We cold read the article and students are expected re-read the
article to do their IVF for homework.
On the second day we check student IVFs and
then do a whole class warm read and annotation. For homework that night
students are expected to find 4 main ideas on their own and write a summary.
On day 3 of the second week, I teach the close reading questions. I
only spend about 20 minutes doing a constructed response lesson with the class.
Here we do the first question together in class use a direct quote. For
homework that evening students answer the second question using an indirect
quote.
Day four I simply check that students are doing the
assignments. Day 5 (Friday) is when this is due and I check that the work is
complete.
WEEK 3 - Release to Independence - WE DO/YOU DO
By week three students are really getting into the groove.
On Monday they set up their ISNs (10 minutes). We cold read the article as a
class (10 minutes). Homework is to annotate, write their IVF, pick 4 main
ideas, and write a summary. Tuesday we debrief the article (10 minutes). I
model a constructed response (10 minutes). Homework is to complete the
questions. I check on Wednesday but don’t collect until Friday.
WEEK 4+ - Independent Assignment - YOU DO
Now we are at week four. On Monday I allow 10 minutes for
set up. We do a cold read together (10 minutes). Students can ask questions about words or concepts they don't understand. They are now independent with
their News ELA Articles and I don’t see it again until Friday when it’s due.
Differentiated Lexiles = Student Success & Achievement
When we reach the point of student independence, this is where the differentiated
Lexiles hit home. I begin to filter out high from low readers and give each
their own leveled story. I print 3 versions of each story. Above grade level (green
paper), On-grade level (white paper) and below grade level (pink paper). Students quickly learn what their color is. As I pass out papers on Monday,
students tell me which color they need.
Ta-da! Differentiated instruction that
can be easily adjusted with minimal hassle!!! This whole thing becomes a weekly
homework assignment for them that is assigned on Monday and due on Friday. Then
most investment of weekly instructional minutes is the setup and cold read
which I model using the on-level “white” version.
Anyway, that’s how I use it. It does take a bit of upfront
structuring to ensure that students both buy into the expectations and feel
successful in the management of the lesson. But it seems instructional minutes
well spent to ensure that they are reading informational text on a regular basis. It’s truly worth my time and theirs.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long blog post. Hope it was helpful!
BTW - if you are wondering what an "IVF" is, it's a Step Up to Writing buzz word for "Topic Sentence". It stands for identify text & author, use a strong verb, and finish your thought. That's all. So even if you don't do Step Up to Writing, it's still a totally doable lesson for what ever writing program you use.
Enjoy!
