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Teaching with Current Events in Your Classroom
The Current Events Teacher Checklist from Facing History and Ourselves provides a step-by-step guide for teachers looking to incorporate reading and discussion about current events into their classroom. This website also offers a variety of accompanying activity suggestions and a moderated list of online news sources. Appropriate for intermediate level ESL and up.
We Speak NYC – learner activities
Provides videos and practice activities (such as quizzes) for learners to develop listening and vocabulary skills in an independent learning setting. Topics include education, health, emergency preparedness, domestic violence, workforce development, adult education, early childhood education, worker rights, mental health, and immigration legal help. Appropriate for high beginning to high intermediate learners.
We Speak NYC
These videos and accompanying materials (including short stories, study guides, and glosses) develop listening and vocabulary skills in a classroom or independent learning setting. Topics include education, health, emergency preparedness, domestic violence, workforce development, adult education, early childhood education, worker rights, mental health, and immigration legal help. Appropriate for high beginning to high intermediate learners.
Learn English Free: EnglishClub
EnglishClub is a free website designed to help beginning to advanced English Language Learners develop their English skills. Learners can find activities and materials to learn about and practice listening, reading, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Teachers can also find materials and lesson plans.
JobScout
JobScout is a free online learning platform designed to help users learn basic internet skills that they need to find a job. The website is designed for native English speakers, but with support, is appropriate for high intermediate and advanced English language learners.
Guided Reading Prompts and Questions to Improve Comprehension
This blog post from Scholastic.com contains excellent teacher practices and materials that can be adapted for improving reading comprehension at any level. The post includes printable PDFs of a teacher Reading Prompt Booklet, "reading prompt" bookmarks for learners, and guided reading question cards for small-group or independent work. The reading prompts are written for a third grade reading level, which can easily be used with intermediate and advanced adult ESL learners.
Adult ESL Pronunciation Activities Videos
Find six different Pronunciation Classes videos that feature teachers delivering integrated pronunciation instruction in beginning and intermediate adult ESL classrooms. Some of the topics covered include word stress, intonation, and voice quality settings.
In Their Own Words: Reading and Understanding Through Paraphrasing
Effective paraphrasing builds students' reading and writing skills and boosts comprehension of complex texts. Summarized here are materials and techniques for teaching paraphrasing in various ABE contexts, including addressing paraphrasing for the GED 2014 Extended Response.
Diana’s ELL Writing Practice
This website is used as a companion to classroom writing instruction for Low Intermediate ELLs. Each of the 3 sections (Parts of Speech, Verb Tenses, and Sentences) has multiple lessons; all include a voiced-over video (based on class handouts) and quiz (multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank) with immediate feedback.
Diana’s ELL Writing Practice – Grammar
This website is used as a companion to classroom writing instruction for Low Intermediate ELLs. Each of the 3 sections (Parts of Speech, Verb Tenses, and Sentences) has multiple lessons; all include a voiced-over video (based on class handouts) and quiz (multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank) with immediate feedback.
Newsela – Multilevel
This website provides several “levels” of the same newspaper articles on a wide variety of topics, along with accompanying online quizzes, that students can read and take.
ThoughtCo: Writing Skills
This website contains articles on English writing skills for a variety of purposes, including essays, formal and informal letter writing, resumes, business documents, that include examples and instructions. The articles can be printed for use in the classroom.
Sounds of English
Sounds of English is a collaboration by Holly Gray and Sharon Widmayer that they started to help their ESL students develop their pronunciation and speaking skills. The site has been expanded to include information about their past research and presentations, lessons and activities for ESL teachers, and more.
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.
Pronunciation Pull-Out Kit
The Pronunciation Kit provides activity instructions for a wide variety of activities that focus on helping learners improve their pronunciation of English suprasegmentals (intonation, rhythm, stress, etc.). The activities in this kit can be used with low-beginning to advanced level English language learners.
News in Levels: World News for Students of English
This website has articles collected from around the world available in three different levels. Each level has highlighted vocabulary words and a listening track so that readers can hear a native English speaker reading the article.
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.
Goal-Setting Lesson Plans
The San Diego Continuing Education Program has created PDFs of a three-part goal-setting lesson for adult ESL students. The lessons and materials are appropriate for high-beginning to advanced level learners.
Breaking News English
This website is a long-time teacher favorite, featuring readings from news stories around the world in seven different levels. Each article is written in three to four different levels and contains printable activities and handouts.
New Resources
Taking Care of Yourself: A Checklist
This checklist outlines the three basic aspects of self-care – awareness, balance, and connection – and offers a list of ideas for self-care strategies to use after a difficult event. As the resource indicates, "There are several ways you can find balance, be aware of your needs, and make connections. Use this list to help you decide which self-care strategies will work for you."
SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
The authors explain, "The purpose of this paper is to develop a working concept of trauma and a trauma-informed approach and to develop a shared understanding of these concepts that would be acceptable and appropriate across an array of service systems and stakeholder groups.... The desired goal is to build a framework that helps systems 'talk' to each other, to understand better the connections between trauma and behavioral health issues, and to guide systems to become trauma-informed."
Call to Mind: Spotlight on Childhood Trauma
According to the website, Call to Mind is an initiative by MPR to inform and generate conversations about mental health. This podcast explores the impact of childhood trauma on mental health and suggests ways to build resilience in children. The impact of childhood trauma on adults is applicable to ABE practitioners.
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
October 26, 2020
1:30 pm–3:00 pm
Online
ABE Foundations at a Distance: Special Pandemic Edition! – Webinar 3
Online
Registration Deadline: MON. 10/26/20 This fall, due to the inability to hold the in-person ABE Foundations Workshop, the online course is a great option for those new to ABE! However, it’s a lot of information, and we recognize that having the in-person… Learn More
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October 27, 2020
2:30 pm–4:00 pm
Online
CCRS at a Distance: Seriously?!
Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 10/27/20 Implementing CCRS is challenging enough in the best of circumstances, and 2020 has been anything but typical. How can we do standards-based education (math and ELA) when we can’t even see our students in person?! Join CCRS leaders Kristine Kelly and Lindsey Pust… Learn More
Online
October 28, 2020
6:30 pm–8:00 pm
Online
Please Say That Again: Virtual Pronunciation Instruction for Adult ESL Learners
Online
Registration Deadline: WED. 10/28/20 It can be challenging to make yourself understood over the phone, even for native English speakers! In this webinar, learn about three different pronunciation features that can be taught and practiced during virtual video instruction. Participants will learn how the three features impact speakers’… Learn More
Online