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Activities for Tutoring a Beginning ESL Literacy Student

Find activity ideas for Beginning ESL Literacy level learners in phonics, pattern based reading, meaning-based reading, checking comprehension, and vocabulary in this handout.
Classroom Activities
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Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA)

This website provides information about current research with low literacy level adult English language learners, as well as numerous resources for teaching and supporting beginning level learners.
Articles & Publications Classroom Activities Online Collections
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Adult ESL Beginning Level Instruction Videos

Find Low-Literacy Instruction and Classroom Activities videos that feature Minnesota teachers working with ESL Beginning Level learners on a wide variety of activities and skills, including phonics, TPR, speaking skills, and numeracy.
Classroom Activities Videos
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New American Horizons: Adult ESL Teacher Training Videos – Low Literacy

This collection of 12 teacher training videos were filmed in adult ESL classes and feature a variety of teaching strategies and activities. For teachers interested in learning more about working with low-literacy learners, there are three videos that address this level.
Videos
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Language Experience Approach and Adult Learners

This Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) article explains how the language experience approach (LEA) approach can be used in tutorial or classroom settings with homogeneous or heterogeneous groups of learners to help develop and strengthen English literacy skills.
Articles & Publications
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Rigor, Relevance, and Respect for Beginning Adult English Learners

Oxford Picture Dictionary author Jayme Adelson-Goldstein shares tips for laying the foundation of college and career readiness skills in beginning level adult instruction.
Articles & Publications
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Phonics Pull-Out Kit

English language learners at many levels need additional assistance with building their phonetic awareness and strengthening their phonetic decoding abilities. The Phonics and Phonemic Awareness Kit provides a variety of activities that can be used with low-beginning to high-intermediate levels of English language learners.
Classroom Activities
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Literacy Minnesota Pre-Beginning ESL Story Bank and Curriculum

This curriculum builds literacy skills and incorporates level-appropriate Transitions skills identified by the ATLAS program's Academic, Career & Employability Skills (ACES) initiative, as outlined in the Transitions Integration Framework (TIF), into every life skill unit.
Curriculum
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Making It Real: Teaching Pre-Literate Adult Refugee Students

This book is a great place reference for both new and experienced teachers. It covers a variety of effective practices for teaching low-literate adult refugees, and describes techniques and activities that support these practices.
Articles & Publications Classroom Activities Teaching Tools
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Getting to the Rough Ground of Language and Literacy Learning Through the Language Experience Approach

This blog post from The Literacy Bug describes how teachers can use the language experience approach (LEA) to support early language learners by providing them with ample opportunities to hear, see, use and manipulate language in contextualized, purposeful ways.
Articles & Publications Videos
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Five Activities to Promote Interaction and Communication

This packet contains in-depth descriptions of five communicative activities that can be used with literacy- and beginning-level learners through advanced level learners.
Articles & Publications Classroom Activities
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ESL Literacy Readers

This collection of beloved theme-based readers for beginning levels of ESL literacy has been discontinued (in late 2024). They are no longer available at the Bow Valley College site. However, colleagues at the Immigrant Welcome Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, have a number of the readers posted (with permission) on their Adult ELL Pathway to Literacy website. This document outlines the changes and how to find these materials.
Articles & Publications Classroom Activities Learner Activities
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Beginning and Literacy Level Adult ESL Students

This online collection from the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition contains links and citations for multiple articles, guides, and handbooks focused and adult literacy level readers.
Articles & Publications Online Collections
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ACES

ACES

Academic, Career & Employability Skills
Adult Career Pathways

Adult Career Pathways

ACP, IET, Transitions
Adult Diploma / HSE

Adult Diploma / HSE

Adult Ed Program Support

Adult Ed Program Support

ABE Foundations & FAQs
CCR Standards

CCR Standards

College & Career Readiness Standards (CCRS)
Cultural Competency

Cultural Competency

Equity & Trauma-Informed
Dev Ed/ABE Toolkit

Dev Ed/ABE Toolkit

Digital Literacy

Digital Literacy

ESL

ESL

English as a Second Language
Numeracy

Numeracy

Math
Project-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning

Reading

Reading

STAR and EBRI
Science

Science

Social Studies & Civics

Social Studies & Civics

Writing

Writing

New Resources

BATT: Additional Resources

These resources build upon the Beginning Alphabetics Tests and Tools (BATT). Included are Roman alphabet activities; free instructional websites; phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition activities; and suggested materials, both free and for purchase. For more detailed information on the BATT, refer to English Code Crackers - Tests & Tools in the right-hand menu.
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English Code Crackers: the BATT

Beginning Alphabetics Tests and Tools (BATT) strives to provide a ‘principled’ system for ABE/ESL teachers who want and/or need to develop their students’ knowledge of Roman alphabet letters, English letter-sound patterns, sight or high frequency words, and transfer of those letter-sound-word skills to text fluency and comprehension. BATT includes (1) teacher-friendly tests for…

English Code Crackers: BATT Tools

Access the BATT here >> Important Teaching Notes: ​This section presents instructional practices, orders, approaches, lesson plans, more activities, and other materials or resources (see under Additional Resources>BATT). The five lesson plans are aligned with the four Reading Standards: Foundational Skills (K–5). Specifically, these…

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PD Catalog

Get an overview of all MN Adult Education professional development (PD) activities in one convenient, searchable place!

PD Catalog

Presenter Information

Get information about stipends, reimbursements, the MN Adult Ed policy on use of images in presentations, and other instructions for presenters.

 

Presenter Information

MN Adult Ed YouTube Channel

The MN Adult Education YouTube Channel is a free online PD resource that you can use to explore teaching techniques and classroom ideas in action! Find out more in this MN ABE Connect newsletter article.

 

MN Adult Ed YouTube

ATLAS Announcements & Future PD

Check out the latest list of ATLAS professional development announcements and opportunities! This is the document that is shared at all ATLAS events.

 

Announcements & Future PD

Virtual Meeting Resources

Find resources for conducting online meetings/events/presentations! You are welcome to use and adapt these materials to fit your own needs and context.

 

Virtual Meeting Resources

Upcoming ABE Events

June 11, 2026 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Literacy Minnesota
Online

Teaching Intermediate Alphabetics

Online

Registration Deadline: THU. 6/11/26 Venue: Online (see details below) Teaching intermediate alphabetics (syllables, prefixes, suffixes, root words) is a great way to help students build their decoding and comprehension skills. Come learn a variety of fun and easy-to-use routines and activities for helping intermediate-level readers develop these important… Learn More

Online
June 15, 2026 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Literacy Minnesota
Online

Racial Equity 101 Presented by Jimmie Heags

Online

Registration Deadline: MON. 6/15/26 Venue: Online (see details below) Join presenter Jimmie Heags, Jr., MA, LSC, LPCC, LADC, ACS, for this session that exposes how race is defined and how racism impacts individuals and institutions. The session will provide learners with a framework for understanding and disrupting the… Learn More

Online
June 16, 2026 1:00 pm–3:00 pm
Literacy Minnesota
Online

Teaching and Tutoring with Northstar Digital Literacy

Online

Registration Deadline: TUE. 6/16/26 Venue: Online (see details below) You don’t need to be a computer expert in order to teach computer skills! Come learn how help students build their digital literacy skills using Northstar Digital Literacy. In the webinar, participants will learn: The features of Northstar Digital… Learn More

Online
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