There are more ways than one to deal with that interesting but long article you found in the Guardian at the weekend and are desperate to make use of in class. These suggestions should help your students lose their fear of English newspapers.
•    Give mid-length stories to pairs who then decide how they would retell their story in the most interesting, exciting way at a party. Include tips on intonation, useful phrases, and a focus on what makes a listener motivated to listen to a story. Then get them to act it out and vote for the best.
•    Choose and cut out a few longer stories (at least half a page). Scrunch each story up into a ball so that it is impossible to read everything. Students can look at the story-balls on the table from all sides, but can’t touch or open them. They have to decide or imagine what each story is about, them one group (or pair) quickly reads each to find out who was closest.
•    Put double page spreads up around the walls and do a kind of Treasure Hunt, where students have to go round and find the answers to questions. (If these are carefully written (eg – What was the score in the Chelsea – Liverpool football match?), you’ll actually be encouraging them to read the paper as native speakers do! Always a good thing!