Useful Study Materials for Students: Online Platforms and Additional Resources
In the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, young learners can now access a wealth of information at their fingertips. Here are some of the best free and freemium article websites for students, each offering unique features and catering to various age ranges and interests.
News for Kids
This free platform presents easy-to-read news articles with images, covering current events, and is suitable for elementary and middle school students. Engaging visuals aid comprehension, making it an ideal resource for young readers.
Smithsonian Magazine Smart News
Smithsonian Magazine Smart News offers articles on science, history, and culture, with free access suitable from middle school age upwards due to complexity. It provides rich, credible content to supplement classroom learning.
Science News Explores
Science News Explores caters to high school students with an interest in STEM fields, offering free articles focusing on science topics.
SubjectToClimate's The Juice
This free news service provides articles specifically about climate change and sustainability, with differentiated reading levels designed for 5th to 12th graders. It includes reading support tools and formative assessments to aid learning.
Fastweb Articles
Fastweb Articles offers freemium access to over 2,000 articles on college-related topics such as scholarships, essays, financial aid, and summer programs, primarily targeting high school and college students.
News in Levels
News in Levels offers free English news articles written at three different levels to match learner vocabulary, making it suitable for English learners and students from beginner to intermediate levels. It also provides audio for listening practice, writing prompts, and speaking opportunities.
DOGOnews
DOGOnews offers news articles featuring current events, science, social studies, world events, civics, environment, sports, weird/fun news, and more, with free access to all articles. Premium accounts offer extras such as simplified and audio versions, quizzes, and critical thinking challenges.
AllSides for Schools
AllSides for Schools presents unbiased news and information for kids through downloadable lesson plans covering polarization and bias, using AI for civil discourse, and comparing bias across news outlets. While a free basic account allows limited access, premium accounts cost between $4.99 and $14.99 monthly and offer 50-150 bias checker uses per month. Classroom and district memberships are also available.
The Sift
The Sift is a free weekly newsletter for educators that provides summaries, discussion points, ideas for lessons, and links to topical articles in the news, as well as debunking fake news.
Teaching Kids News
Teaching Kids News offers readable and teachable articles on news, art, science, politics, and more for students grades 2-8, including a Fake News resource section linking to online games about fake news and images.
Science Journal for Kids and Teens
Science Journal for Kids and Teens is a free source for hundreds of downloadable scientific articles aimed at K-12 students, each accompanied by a teacher's guide, lesson plan ideas, and related articles.
The Electric Typewriter
The Electric Typewriter is a free site that compiles and links to the best articles on a wide range of topics, suitable for students in grade 11 through post-secondary school.
LightSail
LightSail, a freemium article site, offers resources for teaching literacy, poetry lessons and activities, and teaching students to use AI more effectively.
PBS NewsHour Daily News Lessons
PBS NewsHour Daily News Lessons offer daily articles covering current events in video format, each lesson including a full transcript, fact list, summary, and focus questions.
CBS Kids News
CBS Kids News articles are written by students, grades 7-12, and cover diverse topics such as sports, gaming, animals, politics, and interactive quizzes.
Youngzine
Youngzine focuses on climate science, solutions, and policies to address global warming, offering opportunities for kids to express their views and literary creativity through poetry or essays, and compatible with Google Classroom.
Scholastic Kids Press
Scholastic Kids Press is a multinational group of young journalists ages 10-14 reporting the latest news and fascinating stories about the natural world, with sections dedicated to civics and international news. Applications for the 2025-26 program year will be accepted in March 2025.
These resources cover a broad age range from elementary through college students and offer features like reading level differentiation, images, interactive tools, and STEM or sustainability focus areas. Many are completely free, while some offer freemium models, especially in higher education contexts. This diversity lets educators and students select appropriate materials for reading practice, current events, science, college prep, and more.
In addition to these websites, The New York Times Learning Network provides an abundance of activities for students and resources for teachers, including the Daily Lessons. The NYT Learning Network offers thoughtful questions for writing and discussion, as well as related ideas for further study.
- Young learners can utilize the 'Interactive' features of News in Levels for easier comprehension of English news articles.
- Google Classroom can be integrated with educational sites like Youngzine to facilitate 'online-education' about climate science and policies.
- Smithsonian Magazine Smart News offers 'professional development' resources for educators who seek rich, credible content to supplement their classrooms' 'curriculum' on science, history, and culture.
- Science News Explores, a freemium site, provides articles tailored to 'STEM' fields to support 'remote learning' for high school students.
- Fastweb Articles offers college-related resources to students, encouraging 'education-and-self-development' in financial aid, scholarships, and essays.
- 'Laptop' users can access Science Journal for Kids and Teens, a source for scientific articles accompanied by teacher resources.
- Teachers incorporating 'digital' learning in their classrooms can utilize PBS NewsHour Daily News Lessons for 'learning' about current events in video format.
