Newsela launched in 2013 with a bold mission: Meaningful classroom learning for every student. Today, our team constantly strives to deliver powerful solutions that inspire our users.
Luna is your AI-powered teaching assistant across Newsela and Formative. After we introduced Luna, you asked some great questions about our approach to AI in education and what Luna can do across our products. We’ve summarized the responses to your most frequently asked questions below.
Luna is your AI-powered teaching assistant, there to support lesson planning, activity design, graphic organizer creation, text differentiation, and so much more. Luna powers features across Newsela and Formative.
Whenever you see the ✨ or a “Luna” tag, you’ll know you’re harnessing an AI tool powered by Newsela’s 10+ years of education and learning science expertise. Want to know more? Discover the latest features that Luna powers.
Do I need to be a customer to try Luna?
If you already have a Newsela or Formative subscription, you can try Luna directly in the products! Look for the “Luna” tags on buttons. In Formative, click into “Create,” then “Generate Activity ✨,” enter a starter prompt, and then Luna will appear and begin chatting with you to build your activity.
I know that Newsela offers content in Spanish. Are there any plans to provide content in other languages?
Yes! Newsela products now have a text translator tool, powered by Luna, which allows users to translate paragraphs in over 40 languages.
What types of ELL/MLL supports are available for students with Luna?
Luna powers text translations across Formative and Newsela subject products.
In Newsela, this means paragraph translations of texts in over 40 languages, texts at multiple levels, and scaffolds like guided highlighting. In Formative, Luna can translate any activity, hint, or answer response into over 40 languages.
Across both Newsela and Formative, Luna also supports features like text-to-speech functionality.
What type of differentiation is available for special education students with Luna?
Our product teams are continuing to enhance accessibility features across our product suite. Today, Luna powers features to support differentiation across both Newsela and Formative.
In Newsela, this includes texts at multiple levels, scaffolds like checks for understanding, read-aloud mode, guided highlighting, paragraph count, multimedia content, and more.
Formative provides flexible activities and assessments with over 20 item types. Students can submit responses in a variety of formats to show their knowledge (like through text, video, voice recording, or drawing).
Is there a text-to-speech option for students who don’t read at grade level?
Yes, students can use the read-aloud feature on any Newsela text.
What is the lowest grade level available for Newsela’s text leveler tool? Can texts be leveled both up and down?
Newsela’s text leveler tool can generate texts for grades 3-12. Texts can only be leveled down.
[Luna for Formative](id-formative)
What are the best keywords or prompts to use when using Luna to develop lessons in Formative?
The key with any generative AI tool is to be specific in your prompts. We recommend starting with things you’re looking for from a topic, item type, length, and grade level perspective.
In Newsela Writing, is the feedback given to students, particularly younger students, written at a level they will understand?
Luna does not generate feedback based on grade level, but does provide feedback on student writing based on the rubric selected for the assignment.
Does Luna begin to learn about each individual student's style?
No, Luna does not learn about individual students’ writing styles.
Does Newsela Writing integrate with other Learning Management Systems (LMS)?
At this time, Newsela Writing does not offer integrations with LMS other than Google Classroom.
Does Newsela Writing support different languages?
Currently, Newsela Writing only provides feedback in English.
Does Newsela Writing monitor for AI-created student submissions?
AI-detection tools are not yet reliable, so Newsela Writing does not offer this as a solution. That said, once a student submits their work, Newsela Writing will evaluate which text, if any, has been copied and pasted into the student’s essay.
Save time and drive student outcomes, with help from Luna
Now that you know a little more about Luna, you can give it a try in our products! From generating editable, exportable graphic organizers to translating texts and generating activities, Luna is there to support teachers in what they do best: Driving student outcomes.
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