Update: Publication ended in January 2016. Stories and resources will remain on the site, but will no longer be current.

The Why Files brings you the latest news in science and the scientific background for these current events.  This is a great resource for students looking for current events topics written at a reading level for middle and high school students.

You can scan their archives for topics in arts & humanities, biology, earth & space, environment, health, physical science, social science and technology.  There is also a gallery of cool science images, and classroom activities for teachers.

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NewsHour Extra provides unique current events resources for busy teachers:  news stories for a tenth grade reading level, pictures, maps, videos, in-depth lesson plans, stories written by students, and more!

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TIME For Kids is a weekly classroom news magazine that motivates kids to read! Issues cover a wide range of real-world topics kids love to learn about – and it’s the best nonfiction text you’ll find!

A powerful teaching tool, TIME For Kids builds reading and writing skills and is easily integrated across your curriculum, including social studies, science and math.

For kids, some of the articles are free.  The rest of the site requires a paid subscription.

Izzit.org provides a different daily news article with a series of discussion questions every weekday throughout the school year. These questions are designed to encourage critical thinking, challenge assumptions, and provoke lively classroom discussion. The lessons are archived each week, and purged at the end of the school year. Free registration is required to access the materials.

The NYT’s Learning Network offers students and teachers several current event resources. They include an Article of the Day and Teenagers in the Times – stories about young people in the news (most are about college students). Another resources writing prompts based on pictures or student opinion questions. Comments are welcome from students 13 and older, and are moderated by NYT staff before publication.

The site also offers quizzes, word of the day and student crossword puzzles. In the Film Club section, students evaluate and comment on images posted early in the week. Later in thee week, the NYT reveals the image caption and background story, so students can compare their impressions of the image to how it was used to illustrate a story. NYT also sponsors a variety of writing, vocabulary, illustration contests for students.

For teachers, there is an archive of of hundreds of lesson plans based on events covered by the newspaper.  Teachers have free access to five lessons per day. Access to more requires a subscription.

The Learning Network is a fantastic resource for current events and for language arts teachers, as well as middle and high school students.