Learning Network: New resources for a new school year

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September 16, 2025

Good morning! We love the fresh start of a new school year, and we’re excited to share our resources with you. — The Learning Network

How to use The Learning Network

Six headings with illustrations of students next to them: Writing Prompts, Student Contests, Quizzes and Vocabulary, Photos and Graphs, Lessons and Teaching Ideas, Ask a Journalist.

Looking for daily writing prompts to engage students with current events?

Contests that can motivate students to produce their best work — and maybe get it published in The New York Times?

Weekly graphs and images for students to analyze and explore?

A monthly opportunity for students to ask Times journalists about their work?

That’s just a sampling of the many free resources we’re offering this school year. To learn more, visit our updated guide: “How to Use The Learning Network.”

Recent Times reporting about schools

New York City’s ban on cellphones is going “better than expected.”
High school seniors had the worst reading scores since 1992 on a national test.
The Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in New York City opened four years ago with a mission: to turn one of the most popular youth sports into an inspiration for students.
A new study shows that vouchers are spurring the growth of low-priced Christian schools that often serve small populations of students.
The College Board canceled its tool for finding low-income high achievers.

New teaching resources from The Learning Network

A pictorial stacked bar chart showing the top five summer movies by domestic revenue.

Data Literacy: Have students analyze this graph about summer movies.
Contest Resources: Our step-by-step guide offers advice for participating in our new “Growing Up With A.I.” challenge, which is open to both teens and teachers. To help you and your students think about what you might want to say, we also have an open-ended forum. Read some of the 250-plus responses so far, or post your own!
Science Practice: Check out our new weekly activity based on current science research. The first investigation focuses on cats and their sense of smell.
Writing Prompts: We recently asked students how concerned they are about political violence; whether they wish they could break free from their phones; whether their names ever get mispronounced; and what questions they’d like to ask their pets.
Vocabulary Words: Can your students use ancillary, raconteur or edify in a sentence?

An activity for your students

Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

What’s going on in this picture? Invite students to look closely at this image, stripped of its caption, and join the moderated conversation about what they see.

Before you go, see what teens are saying …

A student from Minnesota wrote this in response to our prompt about heading back to school:

Starting senior year has felt very exciting but also a bit nerve-racking, as it forces me to take the next steps toward applying to college and also makes me think a lot about leaving home next year. My favorite part about returning to school is always catching up with my friends that I didn’t see during the summer. And this year, I am especially looking forward to events like Homecoming and senior traditions; however, it’s always a little bittersweet knowing that this year is full of lasts.

We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to LNfeedback@nytimes.com. More next week.

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