Common Lit
Common Lit is one of my new all time favorite READING sites. First and foremost it is free to teachers. Materials are rigorous and relevant in a user friendly format. It is a unique resource available to promote critical thinking. It has an amazing collection of texts and even features paired texts which allows students to explore enduring themes. It aligns with Common Core standards and brings an immediate benefit to teachers and students. I am finding it a new “go to” resource and my students really love it!…
- Published in Digital Literacy, Digital Reading
Newsela: Daily Relevant Nonfiction Texts
Newsela is a free web-based program that offers daily relevant nonfiction news stories for your students. Each article has five adaptable Lexile levels for easy differentiation. Students can read interesting news articles, take quizzes, and monitor their progress. Aligned with Common Core the teacher can drill down to see specific standards each article offers.
The Pro ($) version allows teachers and students to annotate articles to give personalized learning experiences. With a variety of topics teachers can easily differentiate based on students interests as well as reading level. Newsela stands out as an exemplary web tool that offers high interest and relevant news stories and works well for grades 4-12, but I use it for 3rd graders too! Whether you have one classroom computer or thirty, Newsela should and can be easily integrated into your classroom instruction.…
- Published in Digital Reading