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To increase student engagement and accountability through close reading of non-fiction and current events articles. NewsELA aids reading comprehension through leveled articles, real-time assessments and actionable insights.

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Supporting Sophisticated, Skillful and Savvy Readers of Non-Fiction

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School:
Manatee Middle 
Subject:
Language Arts 
Teacher:
Sara David 
Students Impacted:
75 
Grade:
7 
Date:
August 25, 2016

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

 

Champions For Learning - $750.00

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Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 75

Throughout the year, I utilized my teacher subscription to NewsELA to assign non-fiction articles and analyze data from student performance to assess mastery of English Language Arts Florida Standards.  The program allowed me to gain valuable insights into students' areas of strength and weakness by using formative assessment and writing prompts.  By engaging with non-fiction on a regular basis, students learned to become more sophisticated, skillful and savvy readers.  Utilizing the tools available throught the NewsELA technology platform, student engagement and accountability increased through close reading and annotation.  Because students were provided articles closest to their reading level, their performance on formative assessments was a true reflection of comprehension.  As students grew more comfortable and confident with reading non-fiction, their reading levels increased and many students were already reading above grade-level at the midterm.  In addition, the program allowed me to offer student choice for articles to allow students to pursue their own interests in current events and news articles.

 

The impact of using NewsELA this year on my instruction was substantial.  I was able to incorporate valuable strategies from Kylene Beers and Robert Probst's best practices from Reading Nonfiction using the annotation tools on NewsELA.  This lead to thoughtful discussions as students developed critical thinking skills and examined real-world issues from multiple perspectives.

 

Over the course of the year, my 75 students read a total of 4,141 articles thanks to the generous support of Champions for Learning donors! 

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Class Performance Snapshot

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Summary of Student Skills Mastery

 

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Individual Student Reading Growth

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Article Annotations

 

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Newsela Teacher Email Update

 

Original Grant Overview

Goal

To increase student engagement and accountability through close reading of non-fiction and current events articles. NewsELA aids reading comprehension through leveled articles, real-time assessments and actionable insights.  

 

What will be done with my students

A teacher subscription to NewsELA will allow 75 students to engage with primary sources and articles from world-class news publications including the Washington Post, Associated Press and The Miami Herald. Daily news articles unlock students' curiosity and spark thoughtful classroom discussions, empowering students to find their voice. Students are challenged to read digital texts and dive deeper into their reading with annotation tools and writing prompts. In addition, the program adapts to the student's reading level, allowing for differentiated instruction by tracking performance on specific reading standards.

Currently there is a similar program available to striving readers, however, I teach Cambridge and Advanced students who are in need of fascinating and challenging non-fiction content.
 

 

Benefits to my students

The benefits of using NewsELA in my classroom will be deeper engagement, personalized instruction and enriched comprehension through annotation. After reading, students are able to check for understanding with quizzes, motivating students to challenge themselves by monitoring their own progress.

The impact on my instruction will be substantial as the program provides students with real-time access to current events, supporting non-fiction literacy and developing critical thinking as we examine real world issues from multiple perspectives.

To preview the content and capabilities of NewsELA, visit http://newsela.com


 

 

Budget Narrative

Cost for a one-year subscription is $750.00 per teacher, or approximately $1.00/month per student impacted. 

 

Items

# Item Cost
1 Educator Subscription $750.00
  Total: $750.00

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Special Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

Suncoast Credit Union