March Into Reading: Classroom Ideas & Resources for Teachers

March Into Reading—also known as National Reading Month—is the perfect time to re-energize reading in your classroom to help students see literacy as both meaningful and enjoyable.

Whether you teach bookworms or reluctant readers, try dedicating the month of March to introducing new genres, connecting reading to real-world topics, and building skills students will use beyond the classroom.

Newsela ELA and Newsela Writing make it easy for you to plan engaging, standards-aligned lessons that help students read widely, think critically, and write with confidence. Check out our March Into Reading resources that you can actually use all year long!

Jump to:

• How can I get students reading across subjects and genres during March Into Reading?
• How can I build reading skills and meet standards during March Into Reading?
• Why should you use vetted, trusted resources for March Into Reading?

[How can I get students reading across subjects and genres during March Into Reading?](id-genres) 

Key takeaways:

• Offer a diverse range of genres to increase student interest and participation.
• Build background knowledge to support comprehension.
• Connect reading to real-world and seasonal topics.

You can get students reading across subjects and genres by intentionally offering a wide range of texts and helping them make connections between what they read and the world around them. When you vary the types of reading students experience, you increase engagement, choice, and relevance.

Newsela ELA offers curated resources that make it easy to introduce new genres, build background knowledge, and connect reading to timely, real-world topics.

Novels and nonfiction books

Reading is more meaningful when students understand a text’s context and themes. Newsela ELA’s Novel and Book Studies Collection helps you support comprehension by pairing novels and nonfiction books with articles, videos, and background resources aligned to each grade band. Try selections like:

• Elementary: “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown
• Middle school: “The Face on the Milk Carton” by Caroline B. Cooney
• High school: “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

Poems

You can expand students’ exposure to literary forms during March Into Reading by adding poetry to your lessons. Classroom-ready activities from Poets.org help you teach poetry analysis, reflection, and discussion while supporting speaking and listening standards. Choose from selections like:

• “Holidays” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley
• “One day is there of the series” by Emily Dickinson

Current events and news texts

To help students understand why reading matters beyond the classroom, share current events texts. The ELA in the Real World collection connects literacy skills to timely topics using scaffolded resources that help students draw real-world connections. Try text sets like:

• Taylor Swift’s Family of Tortured Poets
• The Legacy of Dr. Seuss
• Good Night Moon and Stories that Span Generations

Seasonal and holiday content

You can boost engagement during March Into Reading by tying reading instruction to seasonal events and holidays. The ELA Holidays and Seasonal Moments collection helps you incorporate timely topics into your lessons. Check out selections for the upcoming months:

• February: Bring texts on Black History Month, the Super Bowl, and Presidents’ Day into your ELA classroom.
• March: Spark students’ interest with activities for Read Across America Day, Women’s History Month, and March Madness.
• April: Spice up your lessons with content for National Poetry Month, Earth Day, and various spring holidays.

[How can I build reading skills and meet standards during March Into Reading?](id-skills)

Key takeaways:

• Use standards-aligned resources to target specific literacy skills.
• Support skill development across all grade levels.
• Integrate reading, writing, and critical thinking into all lessons.

You can build reading skills and meet standards during March Into Reading (or at any time!) by using standards-aligned resources that assess student progress, target specific literacy skills, and integrate reading, writing, and critical thinking. Doing this ensures students aren’t just reading more, but are reading with purpose and skill.

Newsela ELA supports these moves by giving you tools that assess literacy skills, provide targeted practice, and help students apply reading strategies across content areas.

Generation Genius ELA

We’ve introduced new Generation Genius ELA video lessons for grades K-5. These engaging videos feature the Learning League, a loveable cast of characters, and include supporting instructional materials that provide an entry point for young learners to develop literacy skills. Check out some of the League’s latest adventures in videos like:

• The Talespinner
• The Case of the Pea Milk

Learn more: Meet the Learning League, Your Students’ New Learning Buddies

Standards and skills practice

You can check student progress and provide targeted instruction using the Newsela ELA Standards and Skills collection, which includes:

• Reading skills checks: Texts and formative assessments that allow teachers with students in grades 2-12 evaluate their current reading level and literacy skills.
• Elementary and secondary nonfiction texts: Texts for each grade band designed to build skills like finding the main idea, breaking down arguments and claims, and synthesizing informational texts.
• Elementary and secondary fiction and poetry texts: Texts for each grade band designed to build skills like identifying the theme, analyzing multimedia, and comparing and contrasting literary texts.

Pro/Con articles

To help students analyze multiple perspectives, you can use Pro/Con opinion articles. These texts are rated for reliability and bias by Ad Fontes Media, and explore debate-worthy topics such as:

• Should college athletes be compensated?
• Should cancel culture exist?
• Should college students have to study world languages?

Debate prompts

You can reinforce critical thinking and speaking skills by having students apply their Pro/Con analyses in structured debates. Try grade-band-appropriate prompts like:

• Elementary: Cats or Dogs: Which is the better pet?
• Middle school: Is athletic competition inherently good?
• High school: Should online learning remain an option for students?

Research projects

You can strengthen reading and writing skills through inquiry-based learning by assigning research projects that connect literacy to student interests. Curated projects are available for each grade band, including:

• Elementary: Famous musicians and their impact
• Middle school: The impact of social media
• High school: Career exploration

Social skill connections

You can support life skills learning during March Into Reading by selecting texts that explore empathy, relationships, and real-life experiences. The ELA Social Skills collection includes resources like:

• The EdAdvance Social Balance Collection
• Life skills through literature
• SEL and poetry

Paired text analysis

You can help students deepen comprehension by using paired text activities that ask them to compare ideas across genres. Choose from options in each grade band with pairings like:

• Fiction-Nonfiction
• Nonfiction
• Fiction
• Fiction-Poetry
• Poetry

Writing practice

You can reinforce literacy skills by integrating writing into reading instruction across subjects. With ready-to-use lessons and projects, you can support multiple writing types, with resources like:

• Mentor texts: Browse and share a variety of high-quality writing examples for argumentative, opinion and persuasive, personal, informative and explanatory, and literary analysis writing.
• Argumentative and opinion writing: Browse lessons and projects like persuasive speeches, book reviews, and letters for change.
• Informative and explanatory writing: Find lessons and projects like how-to pieces, personal profiles, and inquiry-driven informational writing.
• Narrative and creative writing: Let students express their creative sides with projects like haikus, humor writing, and daily prompt challenges.

[Why should you use vetted, trusted resources for March Into Reading?](id-resources)

Key takeaways:

• Save planning time with classroom-ready materials.
• Ensure accuracy and standards alignment.
• Support diverse learners with multiple formats.

You should use vetted, trusted resources year-round because they can save you time, ensure accuracy, and support standards-aligned instruction. They make it easier to focus on teaching instead of lesson prep. 

Newsela ELA provides high-quality, classroom-ready resources that are already aligned, accessible, and easy to implement.

Curriculum Complements

You can enhance your existing curriculum using Curriculum Complements, which pair your materials with aligned Newsela ELA content. Resources are available for programs like:

• Amplify
• HMH Collections
• McGraw Hill
• … and many more!

Teacher-Created Content

Teacher-created text sets were developed by educators like you who understand classroom needs. Each set includes standards alignment, objectives, guiding questions, and student instructions. Some engaging topics include:

• Are we too dependent on cell phones?
• Disney and representing culture
• Hip-hop and the music industry

ELA videos

You can differentiate instruction and support accessibility needs by incorporating ELA instructional videos into your lessons. Choose from genres and topics like:

• Skills and concepts: Cover reading skills and story elements, writing how-tos, and grammar practice.
• Background knowledge: Teach students about authors, modern issues, and scientific concepts.
• Poetry: Discover what qualifies as a poem, how to do poetry analysis, and the different types of poetry that exist.
• Drama: Break down dramatic devices, key figures and places in drama, and Shakespeare’s take on the genre.

Make March Into Reading work for your classroom with Newsela ELA

March Into Reading gives you a dedicated opportunity to inspire students, strengthen literacy skills, and make reading relevant across subjects.

With Newsela’s knowledge and skill-building products, you can plan engaging, standards-aligned lessons without adding extra work to your plate.

If you’re not already using Newsela, sign up for Newsela Lite and get a 45-day free trial to access premium, differentiated content that helps you make the most of March Into Reading and beyond!