Resources
Results
Additional Comprehension Resources
ESL Literacy Readers offers 40 theme-based stories, a learner page, and a teacher's guide with ideas for reading activities and extensions. ESL Yes! offers 1600 stories intended for Beginning and Intermediate level ESL students, supplemented with audios and various kinds of exercises.
The Times in Plain English
This website contains free "Plain English Version" articles about current world and national news or events. All of the articles are edited by Arthur Schiff and grade-leveled according to Flesch-Kincaid. In addition to articles, the website offers Tips for Teachers, which provides text-dependent questions.
Additional Fluency Resources
These Comprehension resources are also useful for Fluency instruction: * Britannica School Elementary offers non-fiction articles related images, videos, maps, and learning games * The Change Agent includes leveled student-written articles, discussion topics, and lesson plans * The Times in Plain English contains free, leveled articles about current world and national news or events * Center for Adult Literacy Text Library offers over 1600 leveled texts on a range of topics
Teaching Adults to Read
Five free online courses for adult educators who want to learn more about teaching the components of reading: alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Each self-paced course can be completed in 2-4 hours.
Reading Skills for Today’s Adults – Fluency
This website is a source of passages (Levels 0.7 to 8.0) and audios intended “to help adults become better readers and more informed consumers, parents, employees, citizens and community members.” It is useful for Beginning and Intermediate level students.
Reading Skills for Healthcare Workers – Fluency
This website provides 175 CNA (certified nursing assistant) and general healthcare passages and audios for adult readers at grade levels 5.5 to 8.5 (Intermediate level). All are CCRS aligned and include pre-reading questions, definitions of healthcare or high-frequency vocabulary, and text-dependent questions.
Is Fluent, Expressive Reading Important for High School Readers?
This article examines the relationship between oral prosody (phrasing and expression) and silent reading comprehension for secondary readers. The study recommends teacher modeling and whole-class choral reading of passages from literature, social studies, and science content materials.
Fluency: Research and Teaching Strategies
Research Digest No. 6 from the Appalachian State University defines fluency, provides suggestions for assessment and instruction, and lists additional resources and references.
Fluency Techniques for STAR/EBRI Volunteers
This handout for STAR/EBRI volunteers describes three fluency techniques considered most effective for adult readers. All interweave the steps of explicit instruction for guided oral readings of paragraphs, passages, articles, or books.
Fluency Instruction for STAR/EBRI Volunteers
This handout describes what STAR/EBRI volunteers need to know about evidence-based and explicit fluency instruction. It also clarifies how they can improve – but not necessarily perfect – students’ oral reading fluency of paragraphs, passages, articles, or books.
Fluency – Challenges & Possible Solutions
Common fluency instructional challenges and solutions developed by Minnesota STARs and Trainers.
ESL Yes!
This website offers 1600 FREE stories intended for Beginning and Intermediate level ESL students. Most of the stories have accompanying audios, and some provide two audio speeds: normal and slow. Many of the stories have vocabulary, cloze, scrambled sentences, crosswords, and dictation exercises.
Britannica School Elementary
This website offers non-fiction articles at Reading Levels 1-2 and related images, videos, maps, and learning games. The articles are categorized by many categories, and users can select the reading level, adjust the font size, email or print copies, and listen to the text with a Read Aloud option.
CCRS and the Reading Foundational Skills
These resources describe Minnesota's combination of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) + CCRS Reading Foundational Skills 1-4, at Levels K-5. The result is a complete and clear sequence for teaching alphabetics and fluency to adult readers at Beginning and Intermediate levels.
The Teachers’ Room: Correcting Errors
This video shares different things teachers should to take into consideration when correcting errors, and gives suggestions for ways to do learner-friendly error correction in the classroom.
- CCRS
- Comprehension
- Curriculum Design
- ESL
- Fluency
- Formative Assessment
- Text-Dependent Questions
- Vocabulary
ReadWorks.org
ReadWorks provides a large, high-quality library of curated nonfiction and literary articles, along with reading comprehension and vocabulary lessons, formative assessments, and teacher guidance. Through this website teachers can access curriculum, lesson plans, and free training.
Reading Skills for Today’s Adults – ESL
This website was designed to provide an online repository of leveled reading selections that are appropriate for and valued by adult learners. The readings being posted correspond to CASAS 200 - 235, focusing on topics such as Civics, Employment, Housing, Health, School, Money, and Government.
How Should Adult ESL Reading Instruction Differ From ABE Reading Instruction?
A brief from the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) summarizing the research base on adult English language learners (ELLs) learning to read. It describes how ELLs differ from native English speakers and how these differences should affect reading instruction.
Error Correction
This article provides strategies for how and when to correct learners' mistakes and suggestions for how to make error correction a part of your classroom routine.
6 ESL Teaching Techniques to Cut TTT and Get Your Students Talking
Learn easy and effective strategies to cut teacher talk time and provide more opportunities for your learners to practice their English in this article by FluentU.
New Resources
MN Driver’s License Prep
The course focuses on the knowledge and requirements needed to pass the MN driver’s license written exam, based on the MN Driver’s Manual. Focuses on road knowledge, traffic laws, vehicle operation and signage.
MN Driver’s Permit
This course is written for a wide range of learners who want support studying for the MN Knowledge (Written) Exam. The course follows the Minnesota Driver’s Manual chapters 1-8.
Minnesota Driver’s License Written Exam Prep
This class is designed to help unlicensed adult drivers become familiar with the basic vocabulary, signs and rules of the road so they can successfully pass the written portion for their Minnesota Driver’s License. The course covers most of the topics in the Minnesota driver’s education manual.
Presenter Information
Get information about stipends, reimbursements, and other instructions for presenters.
MN ABE YouTube Channel
The MN ABE 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.
Upcoming ABE Events
August 1, 2019
1:00 pm–12:00 pm
Northwest Technical College
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
NW EBRI Training: Bridging Alphabetics and Fluency Across Levels
Northwest Technical College
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
Registration Deadline: MON. 7/15/19 Presented by Marn Frank, ATLAS Literacy & STAR Coordinator: Thursday, August 1 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. AND Friday, August 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon This afternoon and morning training over two days is focused on alphabetics and fluency, also known… Learn More
Northwest Technical College
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
905 Grant Ave SE
Bemidji, 56601
August 1, 2019
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Minnesota Literacy Council – main office
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
An Overview of Karen History, Culture and Language
Minnesota Literacy Council – main office
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
Registration Deadline: THU. 8/1/19 The Karen are an ethnic group from the mountainous border regions of Burma and Thailand. They have long been subject to persecution and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government, leading to their resettlement to Minnesota. There are approximately 17,000 Karen living in Minnesota, and… Learn More
Minnesota Literacy Council – main office
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180
Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States
August 14, 2019
12:00 am–11:59 pm
St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States
2019 ABE Summer Institute
St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States
Registration Deadline: WED. 8/14/19 (NOTE: Registrations after July 19 will incur a $25 late fee. Cancellations will not be accepted after July 26; no refunds will be granted after this deadline.) ABE Summer Institute is Minnesota’s annual statewide Adult Basic Education conference. The Institute is co-sponsored by Literacy Action Network… Learn More
St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States
10 - 4th Ave. S.
St. Cloud, MN 56301 United States