Implementing an Article of the Week program is a great way to get students engaged in reading authentic nonfiction texts. Here, I've compiled a growing list of my favorite articles to read with students organized by general topic along with a list of articles I'm using during the 2023-2024 school year (check back often; I update this monthly. I also share links directly on my Instagram and save them to highlights here). As always, it is essential to preread articles to make sure they're a good fit for your students.
Some tips for choosing articles:
Find articles that connect to settings, themes, topics, or time periods your students are studying in class. You'll notice several articles below that focus on Sudan and Southern Sudan. I use those articles when my students read the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park.
Keep the length resonable. When you print, you can use the Google Chorme extension from printfriendly.com to remove ads and unnecessary headers. For really long articles, consider splitting the article over the course of two weeks (label the articles as Part One and Part Two).
Show multiple perspectives. One advantage of reading lots of nonfiction is that students will begin to recognize bias. Show them multiple articles on the same topic and look for emphasis or exclusion of certain facts and details.
Find current events articles from NPR. I love using NPR with my students because it is the least biased and least sensational of the news sources.
Give students choice. You do not need to assign articles all school year. Give your students some freedom to choose articles at different points in the school year. Once my students are comfortable with our Article of the Week routines, I like giving them freedom to choose articles that interest them.
The articles you find here were chosen because they are high interest, reasonable in length, current, and relevant to students.
2023-2024 Articles of the Week:
Articles by topic:
1. Science and Animals
2. Places
3. National News
4. Inspiring Teens
5. Health
6. Sports
Have any awesome articles that you enjoy reading with students? Share in the comments below. Need a meaningful, easy-to-implement article of the week activity? Click here.
