Scholastic Magazines!

Scholastic magazines are one of my FAVORITE sources for nonfiction text. I was first introduced to them about 2-3 years ago when a friend of mine had them delivered to her school. Every month she’d save copies for me and I’d often use them during my sessions. This year, my principal signed up for a subscription, and I found out there were a TON of different magazines. I’m only going to review the magazines for Middle & High School. If you’re interested in elementary magazines, check them out here

The magazines come every month and feature plenty of engaging & high-interest articles. In addition, there are activities that you can find online for your specific issue on the scholastic’s website. The best part is that the magazines are “common-core aligned.” I think that's a great way to get your school to purchase a subscription ;) ! Here are some of the magazines I have so far that we can use within our sessions:

1) Scholastic Scope: “Designed for the Common Core, Scholastic Scope combines thrilling, complex texts with rigorous support materials to build skills in every strand of the standards. Each issue features a wide range of genres including informational and narrative nonfiction, fiction, drama, and much more”

The sample article above is a great article that could spark up some debate. My 7th grade kids just finished a unit on argumentative writing and their focus was junk food. This article would have been perfect for my lower level kids. I love how it’s laid out into a yes/no side and then there’s even an activity in the end. The magazine also has some fiction stories as well. I love that the magazine has stopping points with questions. See below:

2) Scholastic Action: “Raise the reading achievement of your struggling readers with engaging and accessible nonfiction texts specifically designed to build key language arts skills. Each major article is supported by skill-building activities and a lesson plan designed to meet Common Core Standards.”

I think this will be one of my favorites to use! This is perfect for our struggling readers. There are comprehension, writing, and vocabulary activities after each article. This magazine would be a great way to target multiple goals. Check out some examples below:

3) Scholastic Upfront: “Upfront makes current events relevant to your students with national and international news adapted from The New York Times for a teen audience. In addition, this high school newsmagazine helps you incorporate Common Core Standards into your lessons with complex informational texts, “Core Ideas” writing prompts, and thought-provoking discussion questions. “

This magazine is more for your higher-level HS kids. I haven’t used it yet, but the articles are pretty interesting. These articles focus on current events.

4) Scholastic Story Works (Grades 3-6): “Designed for the Common Core, Storyworks combines thrilling, complex texts with rigorous support materials to build skills in every strand of the standards. Each issue features a wide range of genres, including informational and narrative nonfiction, original fiction, Reader’s Theater plays, and much more."

I haven’t gotten to this magazine yet but it has fiction stories that you could use if you’re working on narrative skills with your kids. There are plays, short-stories, etc!

5) Junior Scholastic: “Junior Scholastic seamlessly blends current events articles with in-depth middle school social studies instruction. Every issue connects today’s headlines to geography as well as American and world history. The magazine also supports Common Core Standards with complex informational texts, essential vocabulary, and close-reading questions.”

This magazine focuses more on history, but the articles are still engaging! It’s good if you’re pushing into a history class or just want a variety of articles.

I think this pretty much covers some of the options scholastic has. There are also magazines for math, science, Spanish, etc.. It’s such a great way to get our kids reading more! If you’re interested, send the link over to your principal (or whoever is in charge of ordering materials), and see if they would be willing to get a subscription! This is also a great tool to add to your school’s library. I take 1 of each magazine and make copies of whatever articles I need. I love making copies so kids can annotate. When I posted this on Instagram, someone mentioned that they put the magazine in sleeves! Whatever works for you J

What do you think? Is this something you could use for your sessions?