Newsela helps students improve their literacy by reading the news
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, nearly two thirds of students in the U.S. are not reading at their grade level. Fortunately, there are organizations that seek to improve that statistic. One of them is Newsela, which has just launched its official iOS app to better help students tap into the full potential of their reading ability.
Know the news
As its name suggests, Newsela has to do with news. Specifically, Newsela delivers the news to be read by students at just the right reading levels.
With the app, students can access relevant news articles from renowned sources such as Associated Press, Scientific American, and the Washington Post. More interestingly, they can also adjust the wording of the articles to any of five reading levels by simply swiping upward or downward with two fingers, thereby aiding in their comprehension and competency enhancement while keeping them engaged in current events and other interesting nonfiction subjects.
For example, as shown in the app’s promo video below, the phrase, “revered for her unlikely ascendance in an arts world notorious for showcasing only lithe white ballerinas,” may be simplified as, “deeply respected and admired for her unlikely rise in an arts world notorious for showcasing only slim white ballerinas,” by dragging down on the article in Newsela.
If you can’t see the video embedded above, please click here.
Level up
After reading articles, students can take quizzes in the app to test their reading skills. As they read and take quizzes, Newsela automatically adjusts the reading level to challenge them and push them to boost their literacy. They can also track their progress over time in the app.
Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 8.1 or later, Newsela is available now on the App Store for free.
Newsela works both online and offline for searching and reading articles, and for taking quizzes.
Newsela also works to help educators in improving their students’ literacy through assignments and progress tracking. If you’re a teacher, parent, or school administrator, just choose “I’m an Educator” instead of “I’m a Learner” when signing up.
See also: Weather Underground gets interface improvements on iOS, Riffsy’s keyboard app now lets you add captions to GIFs, and Your favorites are at your fingertips with Contacts Pad.
