ReadWorks and News-O-Matic have partnered to help you pair news articles that teach children 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, media literacy, and global awareness with ReadWorks' trusted texts that build background knowledge and vocabulary. ​​Each week, read News-O-Matic's hand-selected article, available for free through our partnership. Each article is available at three levels for access to all readers. Then, read ReadWorks' hand-curated texts to support explorations and discussions of the news article. Download our easy one-page guide for linking reading, writing, and speaking!

News-O-Matic articles share current events with your students

ReadWorks' knowledge- building texts support the articles' key themes

Use our research-based Book of Knowledge to add writing & speaking

To view the pairings, scroll below!

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This Week's News Article and Supporting Background Knowledge Texts

News-O-Matic: NICE ICE FOR SKATING!: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• At the Lake (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Ice Skating (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• 'Tis the Season (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: NICE ICE FOR SKATING!: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Beating the Winter Blues (4th-5th grade, nonfiction)
• Kristi Yamaguchi (5th grade, nonfiction)
• North America - Dear Pen Pal (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: NICE ICE FOR SKATING!: LEVEL 3
​News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Learning to Skate (6th grade, fiction)
• The Sport of Snowsnake (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Winter Workouts (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Different Forms of Water (7th grade, nonfiction)

Past Articles from News-O-Matic and ReadWorks' Text Sets 

News-O-Matic: A HOLIDAY FOR ROSA PARKS?: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Meet Rosa Parks (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Caroline LeCount's Civil Disobedience ​(3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Famous African Americans - Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: A HOLIDAY FOR ROSA PARKS?: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• John Lewis (4th grade, nonfiction)
• The Struggle for Equality (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Civil Rights on a Bus (5th grade, nonfiction)​

News-O-Matic: A HOLIDAY FOR ROSA PARKS?: LEVEL 3
​News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• A King Holiday: A Day To... (5th-6th grade, nonfiction)
• Voting For Change (7th grade, nonfiction)
  
• Rosa Parks: 100th Birthday (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIGENOUS FARMING: THE THREE SISTERS: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Food of Wampanoag (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• The Life of a Haudenosaunee Family (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Native Americans - Traditional Native American Homes (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• The Haudenosaunee (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIGENOUS FARMING: THE THREE SISTERS: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• ​The Diverse Diet of the Cherokee (4th grade, nonfiction)
• ​The Importance of Corn to the Hopi People (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Native American Homes in The Pre-Columbian Era (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIGENOUS FARMING: THE THREE SISTERS: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• The Plains Cree and the Woodland Cree​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Tradition of Choctaw Farming (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Hopi Figures on Quilts (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: CLAIRE'S "TIME OF SHARING": LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Fighting for Clean Water (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Playgrounds for Everyone (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Earth Helpers (2nd-3rd grade, nonfiction)
• The First Greenmarket in New York City (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: CLAIRE'S "TIME OF SHARING": LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Save the World (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Cool to Be Kind (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Conservation Groups Count on Outreach Specialists (5th grade, nonfiction)​

News-O-Matic: CLAIRE'S "TIME OF SHARING": LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Baking Her Way (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Remya Cleans Up (8th grade, nonfiction)
• The Teen Who Won a Nobel Prize (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: DIWALI LIGHTS UP!: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• The Amazing Angkor Wat​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• The Ganges River (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• India's Classical Dance: Bharatanatyam (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: DIWALI LIGHTS UP!: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Giving Thanks Around the World​ (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Let's Celebrate! (4th grade, nonfiction)
• The Sport of Kabaddi (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: DIWALI LIGHTS UP! LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• A Day at Angkor Wat​ (6th grade, fiction)
• Legend of Ganga-ji (8th grade, nonfiction)
• Dancing Ganesha (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE EARTHSHOT: PRIZES FOR THE PLANET: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• The Andes Mountains​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Helping Rivers and Streams with New Buffers (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Trouble in the Ocean (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE EARTHSHOT: PRIZES FOR THE PLANET: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Save the World (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Farmers Care for the Land (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Reduce Waste (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Reef Rescue (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Studying Soil: Why is Dirt Important? (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE EARTHSHOT: PRIZES FOR THE PLANET: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Biochar (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Hook, Line, and Sinker (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Predicting the Future (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Freeing the Ocean of Plastic, One Step at a Time (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Could the Futuristic Traveling Tube Become a Reality? (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: NEW SPACE FOR WOMEN'S STORIES: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Arts and Crafts of the Hopi Tribe (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Woman of Tehuantepec​​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Art and Artists - What is an Artist? (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: NEW SPACE FOR WOMEN'S STORIES: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• A Native in the Land of Poetry (4th grade, nonfiction)
• An American Artform (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Frida Kahlo, An Artist and Inspiration (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: NEW SPACE FOR WOMEN'S STORIES: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Charlene Teter's Activism and Art​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Power of Dorothea Lange's Pictures (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Expressing Emotion with Quilts (7th grade, nonfiction)
• In Art Class (8th grade, fiction)
• The Creative Path (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SAVING SHIPWRECKS: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• The Great Lakes​ (2nd grade, fiction)
• Fighting Invasive Plants (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Helping Mussels Means Cleaner Water (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Putting Dogs' Noses to Work (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SAVING SHIPWRECKS: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• The U.S.S. Thompson (4th grade, fiction)
• Aliens Invade! (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Diving Into History (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SAVING SHIPWRECKS: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Great Lakes? Not For Long​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Origin of Species (7th grade, nonfiction)
• An Unwelcome Newcomer (8th grade, nonfiction)
• Long-Term Monitoring of the Hudson River (8th grade, nonfiction)
• The Short-Term Impact of the Zebra Mussel Invasion (8th grade, nonfiction)
• Zebra Mussels and the Hudson River (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SCIENTISTS RING ALARM FOR AMPHIBIANS: LEVEL 1 
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Amphibians: Animals for Land and Water​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Saving Salamanders (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• A Frog's Life (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SCIENTISTS RING ALARM FOR AMPHIBIANS: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Freaky Frogs (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Frogs at Risk (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Brazil Today: The Amazon River and Basin (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Wise, Not Wasteful (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: SCIENTISTS RING ALARM FOR AMPHIBIANS: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Habitat Loss​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• How Water Loss Affects Biodiversity (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Are the Everglades Forever? (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE A.T. at 100!: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Hiking the Appalachian Trail (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Old Man of the Mountain​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• The Big Hike (3rd grade, fiction)

News-O-Matic: THE A.T. at 100!: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• How Mountains Form (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Kyle Maynard: Living the "No Excuses" Lifestyle (4th grade, nonfiction)
• The American Civil War (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Watch for Steady Rocks (5th grade, fiction)

News-O-Matic: THE A.T. at 100!: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• City Boys Discover Trees (6th grade, fiction)
• A Monument for Peace​ (6th-7th grade, nonfiction)
• Vitamin G for Your Mind (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Camping in Style (8th grade, fiction)

News-O-Matic: THE BUZZ ON TEEN PHONES: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• ​Telephones Now and Then (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Playing With Your Health (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Snooze Alarm (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE BUZZ ON TEEN PHONES: LEVEL 2 
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• The Inventors of YouTube (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Why Am I So Tired? (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Go Outside and Play! (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Yawn! (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: THE BUZZ ON TEEN PHONES: LEVEL 3 
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• ​​Driven to Distraction (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Out of Line Online (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Wired World (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Protect Your Privacy Online (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: 42 NEW HERITAGE SITES!: LEVEL 1 
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Mount Fuji (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Petra, Jordan (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• ​The Taj Mahal (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Ancient Egypt-The Pyramids (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Machu Picchu (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: 42 NEW HERITAGE SITES!: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Aksum (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Igúazu Falls (4th-5th grade, nonfiction)
• Morocco's Largest Mosque (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: 42 NEW HERITAGE SITES!: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Borobudur, the World's Largest Buddhist Temple (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Japan's Month-Long Festival: Gion Matsuri (8th grade, nonfiction)
• The Great Barrier Reef (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: A SWING AT PIÑATA STAMPS!: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Chichén Itzá​, Mexico (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Cinco de Mayo-Time to Celebrate! (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Día de la Raza (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• The Nahua (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: A SWING AT PIÑATA STAMPS!: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Dolores Huerta, Fighting for the Farmers (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Mexican Mole (4th grade, nonfiction)
• The Story of Mexican Murals (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Traveling through Tenochtitlán (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: A SWING AT PIÑATA STAMPS!: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Rufino Tamayo, An Influential Mexican Artist​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Introduction to Día de los Muertos (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Mexico City's Palace of Fine Arts (7th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: EARTHQUAKE HITS MOROCCO: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• A Dangerous Landslide​ (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• The Power of the Earth (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Why are There Earthquakes? (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• Quick & Destructive: Earthquakes (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: EARTHQUAKE HITS MOROCCO: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Our Changing Earth: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions (4th grade, fiction)
• Morocco's Geography (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Preparing for a Disaster (5th grade, nonfiction)
• Responding to Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Landslides, and Volcanoes (5th grade, nonfiction)
• The Historical Medina of Fes, Morocco (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: EARTHQUAKE HITS MOROCCO: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• ​Tagine: A Cookware and a Delicious Stew (5th/6th grade, nonfiction)
• Cracking Up (6th grade, nonfiction)
• Finding Fault (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Mount Pinatubo and the Ring of Fire (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: CHINA'S PANDAS HEADING HOME: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• The Geography of China ​(​2nd grade, nonfiction)
• China: The Giant Panda (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Habitats-Zoos (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: CHINA'S PANDAS HEADING HOME: LEVEL 2
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Mountain Animals (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Panda Power!​ (4th grade, nonfiction)
• Endangered Animals at a Glance (5th/6th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: CHINA'S PANDAS HEADING HOME: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Bear Care​ (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Endangered Bamboo-Eaters of Nepal: Red Pandas (7th grade, nonfiction)
• Brave New Zoos (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIA ON THE MOON!: LEVEL 1
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• The Moons in Our Solar System ​(2nd grade, nonfiction)
• ​A Walk on the Moon (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• What Should We Take to the Moon? (3rd grade, fiction)
• What's it Like in Space?​​​ (3rd grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIA ON THE MOON!: LEVEL 2
​​News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Why is the Moon So Scarred with Craters? (4th grade, nonfiction)
• ​Space Centers Across the U.S.A. (4th grade, nonfiction)
• ​​​In Pictures: Beyond Planet Earth (5th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: INDIA ON THE MOON!: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Climbing Space (6th/7th grade, nonfiction)
• The Earth's Moon: In Depth (7th grade, nonfiction)
• ​"Seven Minutes of Terror," Eight Years of Ingenuity (8th grade, nonfiction)

News-O-Matic: PRESIDENT VISITS HAWAII AFTER FIRES: LEVEL 1
​News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 1 (PDF)

knowledge text set: 2nd-3RD grade

• Fire Safety (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• To the Rescue! (2nd grade, nonfiction)
• A Fire Safety Checklist (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Coral Reefs in Hawaii (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Hawaii's Traditional Hula Dance (3rd grade, nonfiction)​​​​​

News-O-Matic: PRESIDENT VISITS HAWAII AFTER FIRES: LEVEL 2
​​News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 2 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 4th-5th grade

• Into the Flames (3rd grade, nonfiction)
• Preparing for Wildfires (4th grade, nonfiction)
• The History of Surfing in Hawaii (5th grade, nonfiction)​​​​

News-O-Matic: PRESIDENT VISITS HAWAII AFTER FIRES: LEVEL 3
News-O-Matic Educator Resources: Level 3 (PDF)

KNOWLEDGE TEXT SET: ​ 6th-8th grade

• Not Scared...Prepared (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Musician with Aloha Spirit (6th grade, nonfiction)
• The Nature and Culture of Hawaii on a Quilt (8th grade, nonfiction)