Newsela Writing Basics
Basics
What is Newsela Writing?
Newsela Writing by Newsela is a web application that helps students improve their writing. Students receive instant, targeted feedback on the foundational skills they need to build lasting writing skills across rhetorical modes and subject areas.
How do students use Newsela Writing?
Students use Newsela Writing to request and receive rubric-aligned feedback on their short answer and long-form writing any time they want, as many times as they want.
What types of writing does Newsela Writing support?
You can assign the following rhetorical modes in Newsela Writing: Narrative, Argumentative, Expository, Informational, Main/Central Idea, Inference/Conclusion, Literary Analysis, and Opinion.
What are short-answer and long-form responses?
On Newsela Writing, short-answer responses consist of one paragraph that contains a thesis, evidence, analysis, background information, and a summary of your argument. Long-form responses showcase all these items in three or more paragraphs.
How does Newsela Writing work and does it use AI?
Newsela Writing uses AI to provide two types of feedback. First, Newsela Writing identifies different sentence types to help students learn the foundational components of academic learning. Second, Newsela Writing provides instant feedback to help students improve their writing based on a chosen rubric.
What's the best way to use Newsela Writing in the classroom?
Think of Newsela Writing as a writing feedback coach for students. With Newsela Writing, you can assign students a range of assignment types to make sure they have the practice they need to build lasting writing skills. Newsela Writing is flexible enough to use with existing curricula or with your personal writing assignments.
What is the reading level of the textual feedback that the student receives from Newsela Writing?
The student writer will receive textual feedback at the reading level that Newsela uses when recommending Newsela content. For example, if the student receives articles at a recommended reading level of 7th grade, the textual feedback that they receive from Newsela Writing will be at a 7th grade level.
Can Newsela Writing be used with English Language Learners whose spelling may be incorrect?
For the most part, Newsela Writing will not attend to spelling and grammar. The two exceptions are when
Incorrect spelling or grammatical errors interfere with Newsela Writing’s ability to understand what the student has written;
There are explicit expectations around spelling and grammar, such as in a “Conventions” rubric criterion.
Login & Authentication
How do I log in to Newsela Writing?
Newsela Writing is part of Newsela. You can log in to Newsela Writing using your Newsela credentials. You can log in directly at Newsela Writing.newsela.com. Or you can log in to Newsela.com and use the product switcher (see below) to switch over the Newsela Writing. If you receive an assignment link, after you log in using your Newsela credentials you’ll be taken directly to the assignment.
What platforms are compatible with Newsela Writing for authentication and rostering?
Newsela Writing is part of Newsela. You can log in to Newsela Writing using your Newsela credentials. Newsela is compatible with various platforms for authentication and rostering, including Google, Canvas, Schoology, Clever, ClassLink, and Microsoft.
Accessing Newsela Writing
How do I access Newsela Writing from Newsela.com?
To access Newsela Writing from Newsela.com, log in to your Newsela account, click the grid in the top left corner, and select Newsela Writing.
Workflow Integration
Can I Navigate Back from Newsela Writing to Other Newsela Products?
You can use Newela's App Switcher to navigate to Newsela's main webpage or to Formative by Newsela
Can I use Newsela Writing with Google Classroom?
Yes, teachers can share Newsela Writing assignments via Google Classroom.
Can I use Newsela Writing with Google Docs?
No, Newsela Writing does not work with Google Docs. Newsela Writing is a web app and does not integrate with Google Docs.
Does Grammarly work with Newsela Writing?
Yes, Grammarly works with Newsela Writing. Users will see in-text feedback from Grammarly alongside the highlights and rubric-level feedback provided by Newsela Writing, ensuring comprehensive support for writing improvement.
Does Newsela Writing integrate with other Learning Management Systems (LMS)?
At this time Newsela Writing does not offer integrations with LMS other than Google Classroom.