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Collective Joy: Leveraging Students’ Collectivist Mindset as a Classroom Asset

View the slides from Collective Joy: Leveraging Students’ Collectivist Mindset as a Classroom Asset, presented by Erin Cary and Cydnee Sanders at the 2025 Minnesota English Learner Education (MELEd) Conference. This session invites educators to shift from deficit-based thinking to an asset-based approach that recognizes the collectivist strengths many multilingual adult learners bring to the classroom. The resource includes practical strategies—such as simple, community-building routines—and reflective prompts to help educators create classroom environments where connection, identity, and joy are central to adult ESL and ABE instruction.

Health Literacy Resources

This collection of multi-language health videos, classroom lessons, and support resources was created to support language learners who are new to English and who may have limited literacy skills to reduce barriers to access healthcare and improve health literacy.

What Does It Mean to Be a Refugee?

This video describes the prevalence of global conflict that results in the internal displacement of millions of people due to war, violence and persecution, as well as the difference between an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) and a refugee. This resource is a visually engaging resource to inform ABE practitioners more about refugee populations. There are also lesson materials provided.

The U.S.-Mexico Migrant Crisis

This news special gives insight to the scope and complexity of migration at the Mexico/U.S. border. This resource can be used by ABE practitioners to better understand the political, social and economic background of a population of learners who we serve in ABE.

Refugees in America

This is the official United Nations High Commission for Refugees website, which can serve as a primer for ABE educators who work with refugees to understand who refugees are, where they come from, and relevant statistics and facts about refugees.

Health Literacy Resources for Immigrants and Refugees

This collection of multi-language health videos, classroom lessons, and support resources was created to support language learners who are new to English and who may have limited literacy skills to reduce barriers to access healthcare and improve health literacy.

Refugee and International Health – MN DHS

This MN Department of Health website contains descriptions of trainings on refugee resettlement offered by the MN DHS, as well as links to informational resources on refugee resettlement in Minnesota and the U.S.

Immigrant Story Curriculum for English Language Learners

Immigrant Stories is a digital storytelling and archiving project. This curriculum will allow students to create a 3-5 minute digital story about a personal experience using the Immigrant Stories website (https://immigrantstories.umn.edu/). The curriculum includes everything you need to assign the project: a 4-week schedule, lesson plans, a grading rubric, and student handouts.

Workforce Collaborations Build a System of Supports for Immigrants

How can workforce development agencies and adult education programs work together to strengthen each other’s services to immigrant language learners? This 6-page fact sheet describes how community networks in three different parts of the country answered this question.

New Resources

Collective Joy: Leveraging Students’ Collectivist Mindset as a Classroom Asset

View the slides from Collective Joy: Leveraging Students’ Collectivist Mindset as a Classroom Asset, presented by Erin Cary and Cydnee Sanders at the 2025 Minnesota English Learner Education (MELEd) Conference. This session invites educators to shift from deficit-based thinking to an asset-based approach that recognizes the collectivist strengths many multilingual adult learners bring to the classroom. The resource includes practical strategies—such as simple, community-building routines—and reflective prompts to help educators create classroom environments where connection, identity, and joy are central to adult ESL and ABE instruction.

Beginning ESL Literacy Distance Learning / In-Class Units

These lessons for Beginning EL Literacy (NRS ESL Level 1, CASAS STEPS 160-183) can be used in class, or assigned out of class as proxy hours by a TVM-certified teacher. The lessons are paper-packet based, and each has a QR code link to a video for the lesson. Each unit contains 5 lessons. Each lesson introduces 6-8 new vocabulary words, and is meant to build knowledge based on previous lessons.

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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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Upcoming ABE Events

April 13, 2026 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Literacy Minnesota
Online

Developing and Practicing Reading Fluency

Online

Registration Deadline: MON. 4/13/26 Venue: Online (see details below) Come and review the important role of fluency in reading instruction. We will discuss the three key components of reading fluency and look at a variety of activities tutors and teachers can try. We will talk about the mechanics… Learn More

Online
April 17, 2026 8:30 am–2:45 pm
ATLAS
Online

Statewide Virtual Conference

Online

Registration Deadline: FRI. 4/17/26 What? A statewide virtual conference on Friday, April 17! See complete flyer for the program with all workshop titles and descriptions HERE. Where? Anywhere! This event is virtual. Why? To catch timely, informative sessions (including re-licensure areas)… Learn More

Online
April 22, 2026 6:30 pm–8:30 pm
Literacy Minnesota
Online

Teaching and Tutoring with Northstar Digital Literacy

Online

Registration Deadline: WED. 4/22/26 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