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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
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
Author Peggy McIntosh explains, "I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group." Proceeding from her studies on male privilege, her list outlining the "daily effects of white privilege" is a starting point to help people understand how this dynamic shows up in our lives regardless of intent and without our conscious participation - so that we can begin creating a more equitable society.
NEW! Metro South Employability Skills Resource Collection
This excellent collection of resources was put together by Alison Wilcox and Metro South ABE. It contains videos that help students to understand what is meant by the terms "soft skills" and "transferable skills." It also contains links to other resources, such as a transferable skills checklist, a skills inventory, and a list of verbs that can be used for resumes.
Teaching Skills That Matter – Navigating Systems
The Teaching Skills That Matter initiative provides high-quality teaching materials and instructional videos that highlight 9 skills that are essential for success in work and community life - including Navigating Systems. The lessons are also designed to build knowledge in 5 key content areas: Civics Education, Digital Literacy, Financial Literacy, Health Literacy, and Workplace Preparation. The toolkit lessons can be used with both native and non-native English speakers, and they were designed by national experts in each content area.
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
January 25, 2021
6:30 pm–8:00 pm
Online
Teaching Reading Vocabulary Remotely or In Person
Online
Registration Deadline: MON. 1/25/21 Vocabulary is everyone’s favorite reading component! And helping students master reading vocabulary is a key to helping them master comprehension. But how many words should you teach? And which words are the most important? What strategies are best for helping students learn new… Learn More
Online
January 26, 2021
12:30 pm–12:45 pm
Online
MN Teachers: Lunch and Learn: Creating a Virtual Reading Room with BE Readers
Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 1/26/21 Join your MN BurlingtonEnglish Customer Rep, Angela Donlon, as she takes a quick tour of BE’s Readers. Learn how you can create a virtual reading room and so much more!… Learn More
Online
January 26, 2021
6:30 pm–8:00 pm
Online
Talk Amongst Yourselves: Building Up to Student-Facilitated Conversations
Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 1/26/21 Learn about three essential skills students need in order to join a conversation and keep it going. This webinar will demonstrate how to introduce those strategies and get students talking in small groups online. Come ready to participate in your own small groups… Learn More
Online