Great News from NewsELA!

Over the last month, Ms. McVicker's 10th and 11th grade English students were involved in a pilot program with NewsELA, and even though the trial lasted for a little more than two months, they have seen improvement in the Nonfiction Reading scores!

Brendan Green reads a current
event article of his choosing.

What is Newsela?   "Newsela is an innovative way to build reading comprehension with nonfiction that's always relevant: daily news." Newsela is a user-friendly way for students to select and read the same high-interest current event articles, but at their own personal reading levels. At the end of each reading, they take a quiz aligned to the state standards, and they (and the teacher) can monitor progress. They can also "talk to the text" and highlight -- solid, research-based strategies to improve reading comprehension. 

How did the improvement happen?  First, students used the San Diego Test to determine a starting point for their reading -- their Lexile level.  Then, they signed up for their free account to NewsELA.  Finally -- they began reading!  What did they read?  Articles THEY were interested in -- and a few that were assigned, too.  Each academic week for homework, students were challenged to accumulate 9 correct answers for a cumulative total of 27 points over the three weeks of academic classes.

What do students like about NewsELA?  

• "It helped me improve my grade and I feel like I am a better reader!  Being able to see my results in the binder confirms that I have improved.  It makes me want to read more."  ~  Linzy Miller, gr 10 Vet Tech
• "I was able to learn about different topics that interested me -- things I never would have read about in a traditional classroom."  ~  Hallie Joyce, gr 10 Cosmetology
• "I like wolves, and I was happy to know that I could find lots of articles on that topic and more!  It made me want to read."  ~ Briana Smith, gr 10 Commercial Art
• "I feel like I learned something after reading.  I always found something interesting."  Zoi Waite, gr 10 Computer and Office Technology
• "If I must read, at least I could pick what I wanted to read!"  ~ Kindal Procopio, gr 10 Commercial Art

How do students prove their progress?  After each article, students took a 4 point test.  At first, these quizzes were tough -- unfamiliar, but as time went on, they got easier.  Why?  Because they were using better reading strategies?  They were reading with a purpose!  

The results?  Since March, over 1,125 articles have been read and quizzes have been taken.  Over the last month, the 10th grade students improved their scores by 5%, and the 11th grade students have improved their scores by 13%!   Now THAT's progress!  As a final activity, students will analyze their progress -- improvement in quiz scores and increases in Lexile levels.  

What's next?  Students, current and incoming, will be offered the chance to start the 2016-2017 school year with bonus points in their English classes by joining Camp Newsela, a summer reading challenge; for more information on this, click here:  Summer Reading Challenge.

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Check it out for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RPPSs-zBA8

To read more articles from The LCCTC Eagle, click here:  http://thelcctceagle.blogspot.com/