Using Newspaper Articles to Help Struggling Readers

[Frank W. Baker]

Margueya Poupko, a teacher at Bruriah High School in Elizabeth, N.J., was struggling to reach her students when she decided to use human-interest stories in the newspaper to engage her class. The use of newspapers "saved" her class as students gained skills in reading, writing and debating about the articles, she explained. "The energy returned to the room and, with it, the students' ability to see how issues raised in literature -- even works written centuries ago -- still matter today," according to this NYT Learning Network blog post that includes ideas for using Poupko's strategy.