Strategies to use with Newsela

Please remember that our goal is to see improvement each month. If you’re continuing to struggle try using the strategies below:

1. Read the articles more than once before taking a quiz.

2. Annotate (TttT) within the articles.

3. Read the articles at a lower lexile score, building up to the required lexile score.

4. Print the articles and TttT on the articles.

5. When taking the quizzes, refer back to the articles to find evidence to support your answer.

6. Read the article out loud; often, we are better at monitoring our understanding when we do so.

Writing Option

Your prompt must:

• • Be 7-10 sentences in length

  • Use a quote from the article as evidence

  • Use a MLA in-text citation

  • Follow the guidelines addressed in the prompt

Remember:

Newsela is a non-fiction database of current articles. Some of you have never read non-fiction before. It’s different from reading fiction.

Newsela asks you to think critically. Often, answers are similar. Look carefully at word choice and find evidence to support your answer. For most of you, this is the first time doing so and it’s difficult. You are not expected to get 100s on all articles. Some will be easier than others. Some may be more interesting than others.

Think of it as training your brain to think in a different way than you have in the past. It’s not just about finding the right answer, it’s about finding the best answer. You will use Newsela again in 8th grade and beyond!