How to Use the New York Times to Supplement Your Lesson Plans

The New York Times is one of the most recognized publications in the world. It also is a treasure trove of free resources for educators. If you teach middle school or high school and have not yet checked out the New York Times resources, you are missing out on a valuable resource. 

For English Teachers

For English teachers,  the NYT has a big, and growing, collection of nonfiction articles that matches the literature you may be teaching in your classroom. We also love their “What’s Going on in this Picture” segment that they release weekly. They are a great way for students to practice their inferencing skills. In addition, they have a whole segment dedicated to vocabulary development using their articles. 

For History Teachers

In history, we use the New York Times archives to find primary sources to weave in to our lesson plans. 

For Science Teachers

Science teachers, the NYT has an expansive list of STEM articles of the Day for you to add to your curriculum. They also have some really cool short three minute videos all about science that would entice even your most reluctant learners. 

The resources are free, and they have some super insightful ideas and pretty unique units of study to choose from. While we don’t often use their complete lessons, we love to pick and choose a few ideas that really complement what we have already created. 

We hope you find the New York Times educational resources as useful as we have. 

Happy Teaching!