Newsela STEM with Generation Genius launches to cultivate critical thinking with real-world, standards-aligned science lessons and videos

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsela, a leading provider of high-quality instructional and assessment products for K-12, announced today that the company has launched a new product: Newsela STEM with Generation Genius.

The launch comes on the heels of Newsela's acquisition of Generation Genius—a beloved solution for modern science and math videos and lessons—earlier this year, and marks a deepened focus on engaging science solutions that support student outcomes while enabling teachers to deliver their best instruction.

Newsela STEM is a standards-aligned K-12 supplemental science product combining Generation Genius video-based science and math lessons and DIY activities with Newsela's authentic texts, built-in scaffolds, exclusive datasets, support for Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) writing, and more. The product offers curated elementary, middle, and high school science lessons—aligned to national and state science standards—with videos and texts that connect to phenomena, core concepts, and real-world applications. Research-backed features designed for differentiated instruction support students with diverse learning needs to deepen their knowledge, skills, and interest in science concepts.

"We want all teachers to feel equipped and empowered to bring science to life. Science is the foundation for STEM achievement and knowledge-building; it's more than just hands-on fun. Science learning needs to start early to develop students' interest and understanding of the natural world around them," said Dan Cogan-Drew, Newsela's Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer. "Effective science education emphasizes inquiry over memorization. To develop critical thinking, students should explore topics that connect to their real lives, using diverse formats—just like the information they encounter outside of school."

According to the latest NAEP Report Card, 8th-grade science scores are down, and the proficiency achievement gap continues to widen. Students are struggling to build foundational skills at a time when critical thinking and an understanding of STEM concepts are increasingly vital to navigating their world—especially with new AI applications developing at a rapid speed.

Part of the challenge may be a lack of resources that help teachers confidently build real-world science connections to standards. Ninety-six percent of teachers find alignment with state science standards important, but only 37% think their materials meet these standards.

"Our goal with Newsela STEM is to help science teachers foster curiosity and deepen learning with inquiry-driven lessons that promote critical thinking," said Bonny Troyer, Newsela's Chief Product Officer. "With any new product, our team focuses on building a solution that is grounded in the latest learning sciences and pedagogical best practices. We know from our primary research with science educators that building understanding of key science concepts, exploring real-world applications of science, and developing students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills are top priorities for their science instruction. We designed Newsela STEM with the goal of supporting science teachers in addressing these objectives."

The launch of Newsela STEM follows another exciting back-to-school product release from the company. Earlier this summer, Newsela launched Luna, an AI-powered teaching assistant across its full product suite, with the goal of bringing the team's education expertise and purposeful approach to AI applications to the classroom. With this continued expansion of innovative, research-based products, Newsela is committed to bringing new solutions across core subjects to support the company's mission of meaningful classroom learning for every student.

Newsela STEM is available within Newsela's suite of products. Administrators and teachers can join the company's webinar on October 15 for a live demo of the solution and insights from the team that built it.

About Newsela
Newsela products are purpose-built to unlock student motivation, inspire teachers, and drive long-lasting learning outcomes. With a suite of products to support knowledge- and skill-building, writing practice, daily instruction, and assessment in K-12 classrooms, Newsela offers solutions backed by learning science research to drive student outcomes and support teachers in their instructional goals. To learn more about Newsela, visit the company's website. For press inquiries, contact [email protected].

SOURCE Newsela