Accessible News for Adults

The Times in Plain English is a site that offers both adult students and their teachers versions of New York Times articles that have been simplified and shortened to meet the needs of students reading at lower levels. The articles have been chosen with the adult student population in mind—for instance, there are many articles about the minimum wage and worker’s rights as well as immigration policy. The articles are easily searchable—there is a side bar that allows articles to be searched by category such as “money and work,” “health and education,” etc. There is also a full index of all articles listed from least to most recent and “Teachers’ Tips,” which consist of questions and answers for selected articles.

This site is extremely useful both for adult education teachers and their students. Teachers looking for articles on current events that connect with social studies concepts they are teaching will find plenty to work with here—articles such as “Governments Censoring the Internet or “The Civil Rights Act of 1964—What it Meant.” There are also articles of general interest to the adult population such as “Pregnancy: Developments in Antibiotics and Nursing,” or “Climate Change will Change Your Kids’ Lives. ” The site can also be used independently by students—a good resource as students often need to keep up with current events and can’t read longer, harder newspapers. Most articles are at about a 5th or 6th grade reading level and up.

About Kate Brandt

Kate Brandt is a Professional Developer in the adult literacy field in New York City and she loves her job. She loves her job so much that she commutes 2 hours per day, from her suburban home in Shrub Oak, New York, to get to work. She loves working in adult literacy because she gets to work with people who are smart, kind, and dedicated.

2 thoughts on “Accessible News for Adults

  1. Excellent resource. I have used NY Times articles with students for many years. Usually articles are part of a series around a particular topic or theme, whether formally or informally, which offers the opportunity to learn about a topic that part of an ongoing, public discourse. Ask students to collect articles around topics of interest, to encourage them to learn about a subject they find interesting, from a lot of different, often unexpected angles.

    1. This resource is great for current events as well as health literacy, which is an important part of Adult Education lessons. My advanced ESL students are not frustrated when reading these articles. I can assign an article, have the students read at home, then discuss the topic in the classroom.

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