Lesson Sparks
Newsela’s Lesson Sparks provide instructional supports and ideas for incorporating Newsela content into your classroom instruction. Lesson Sparks vary widely depending on the content they support, and might include ideas for teaching a novel, conducting an experiment, or facilitating a debate. Regardless of the topic of the content, Lesson Sparks help you bring it to life in your classroom.
Video - How Newsela Works: Lesson Sparks
Accessing Lesson Sparks
Lesson Sparks can only be found on larger collections.
Accessing from a Collection or Text Set
Collections often have Lesson Sparks available at the Topic or Instructional Set level. In these cases, they will be found in the panel on the right, which can be closed and opened with the Resources button.
Using Lesson Sparks
To use Lesson Sparks in your classroom, take the following steps:
Find a Lesson Spark you’d like to use to facilitate your instruction.
Preview the activities and resources in the Lesson Spark.
Copy the suggested directions, by highlighting the instructions with your cursor and copying them.
Click “Create Assignment.”
Paste the suggested instructions into the “Assignment Directions” field.
Additional lesson ideas from teachers
If you’re looking for lesson ideas in addition to what are offered in Lesson Sparks, check out the Newselaverse Educator Community. You'll find content created by Newsela Certified Educators and ready for use in your classroom.