How to Add Students to Classes

All teachers can add students to their Newsela classes. To get started, select the option that your school uses.

Previous article: Ways to Create Classes

  • Go to the Classes tab by clicking your initials in the upper right-hand corner, clicking on Settings, and selecting the Students tab. 

  • Find the class you’d like to add students to and click Add Students

  • There are two options: 

    • Class Link: There are three dots to the far right of your class under the More column. Click this icon and then select 'Add Students'. This will bring up the invite link to your class. Copy the URL and share it with your students. Once students click on the URL, Newsela will guide them to sign in or create an account, and then take them to the class.

    • Class Code: Students sign in on newsela.com. They will click their name in the upper right-hand corner. Under the classes section of their account page, have students enter the Class Code and click "Add a Class."

  • You can also give your students these instructions: How to join your teacher’s class.  

  • To confirm that your students have joined your class, go to your Students. Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students who have joined your class.

Syncing Classes from Google Classroom

If you have classes and students set up in Google Classroom, you can import those classes and rosters into Newsela.

  1. Go to your Classes page by clicking your initials in the upper right-hand corner, clicking Settings, and selecting the Classes tab from the settings menu.  

  2. Click Sync with Google.

  3. Select the classes you want to import, choose a grade level and subject for each, then click Import Selected Classes. You may need to wait for the sync to complete.

  4. To confirm that your students are in your class, go to your Students page. Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students in the class. The student roster in Newsela should correspond to the student roster in Google Classroom

Imported students will see your class on their settings page.   

You can learn more about syncing your Google Classroom in this video.

Find student instructions for accessing your Newsela-synced Google classroom in the Ways to Join a Teacher's Class: Google article.

Note: Class Links and Class Codes referenced in "Class Codes through Newsela" are only for classes manually created and rostered within Newsela itself. Classes rostered through any of the other options listed in this article must be synced according to the provided instructions.

Syncing Classes with Clever

  1. In Newsela, go to your Classes page by clicking your initials in the upper right-hand corner, clicking Settings, and selecting the Classes tab from the settings menu.  

  2. Click Sync with Clever.

  3. Select the classes you want to import, choose a grade level and subject for each, then click Import Selected Classes.

  4. You may need to wait for the sync to complete.

  5. To confirm that your students are in your class, go to your Students page. Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students in the class. The student roster in Newsela should correspond to the student roster in Google Classroom

Imported students will see your class on their settings page.

Syncing Canvas Classes in Newsela

  1. In Newsela, go to your Classes page by clicking your name in the upper right-hand corner and selecting the Classes tab from the settings menu.  

  2. From the Classes tab, click Sync with Canvas to choose the classes to import from Canvas into Newsela.

  3. From the pop up menu, choose the courses you would like to sync with Newsela and click ‘Sync Selected Classes’.

    1. Do not sync Canvas PD courses with Newsela. Syncing courses in which teachers are enrolled as students will restrict will restrict access to features and content.

  4. After the initial sync, class rosters will sync automatically when you log in through Canvas.



Rostering your Students

Your student roster will import when you sync your classes. To view your students in your Canvas classes in Newsela, follow these steps:

  1. In Newsela, go to your Students page by clicking your name in the upper right-hand corner and select the Students tab from the settings menu.  

  2. You’ll see a list of your students. This import might take a few minutes the first time you sync.

Note: If you don’t see your Canvas classes on your Newsela classes page, your district Canvas administrator may need to complete the setup by following these steps.   

Find more information on setting up classes, missing students, and assigning with Canvas with Newsela as an educator in the Using Canvas for Teachers guide.

Class Links and Class Codes referenced in the Newsela section of this article are only for classes created and rostered through Newsela. Classes rostered through any of the other options listed in this article must be synced according to the provided instructions.

  1. Go to your Classes page by by clicking your initials in the upper right-hand corner, clicking Settings, and selecting the Classes tab from the settings menu.

  2. In your list of classes, select the class and click the Add Students link.

  3. You’ll see a window with two options for having students join your class: the Class Link and the Class Code. Pick the option that is more convenient for you. Both options work for students with or without existing Newsela accounts. You can also give your students these instructions: How to join your teacher’s class.

    • Class Link: Students go to the Class Link. By following the on-screen instructions to sign in or create an account, they will join the class.

    • Class Code: Students sign in to newsela.com. They will click their name in the upper right-hand corner. Under the classes section of their account page, have students enter the Class Code and click "Add a Class."

Note: To confirm that your students have joined your class, go to your Students page. Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students in the class.

  • In Newsela, go to your Classes page by clicking your initials in the upper right-hand corner, clicking Settings, and selecting the Classes tab from the settings menu.  

  • Click Sync with Classlink.

  • Select the classes you want to import, choose a grade level and subject for each, then click Import Selected Classes.

  • You may need to wait for the sync to complete.

  • To confirm that your students are in your class, go to your Students page. Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students in the class. The student roster in Newsela should correspond to the student roster in Classlink

Imported students will see your class on their settings page.   

Students will appear in your class on Newsela once they log in. Students should follow these steps to access your classroom in Newsela: 

  1. Log into Schoology.

  2. In Schoology, open your class. At the bottom of the left hand sidebar, click on Newsela. 

  3. Newsela will open in a new window.

  4. Once you have clicked on the Newsela icon in Schoology, you will be added to your classroom roster in Newsela.

To view your students in your Schoology classes in Newsela, follow these steps:

  • From your Newsela homepage, go to your Students page by clicking your name in the upper right-hand corner and selecting the Students tab from the settings menu.  

  • You’ll see a list of your students.

  • Students who are missing from the roster will be added once they log into Newsela from your Schoology course.

Note: Your students will need to access Newsela through all Schoology courses that they will need access to in Newsela.

You can view a video version of this information here.

Class Links and Class Codes referenced in the Newsela section of this article are only for classes created and rostered through Newsela. Classes rostered through any of the other options listed in this article must be synced according to the provided instructions.

Students at all schools can create Newsela accounts by going to newsela.com and clicking Sign Up. Teachers can invite students to join their Newsela classes from their Classes page. If your priority is getting started right now, you can choose that option.

However, if your school might be using one of the integration options above, we suggest asking your administrator or tech support administrator. Your students may already have accounts that were created with one of these integration options. Some districts may have their own names for these integration options (such as “Our District Portal” instead of “Clever”). You can also contact us and we’ll let you know if we have a record of a preferred integration option for your school.

Note: Ask your students if they have previously signed in to Newsela. Every teacher and student needs only one Newsela account, and can keep using that Newsela account for all classes every year.