All resources in Minnesota Digital Curriculum Catalog

ESOL Earth Day

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The purpose of this lesson is for students to practice and improve English conversation, writing, vocabulary, and reading through the lens of the Earth Day holiday (April 22nd). Also, students can brainstorm and share what we can do to preserve the Earth on a global or personal scale.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Joanna Stratman

Parts of the Body, an ESL Lesson Plan for Adult Literacy or Low-Beginning Level Students

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An integral component of the adult ESL literacy and low-beginning level course outlines is an introduction to the parts of the body. The author addresses this content area, suggesting a variety of classroom activities and instructional strategies which promote student success in the development of this competency

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Patricia Petherbridge-Hernandez

A Visit to the Local Supermarket

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This lesson introduces ESOL or ELL students to common food items and their location on supermarket shelves. The lesson also provides an overview of the organization of supermarkets and the distribution of food items along different aisles. Materials include a list of vocabulary, cooperative learning activities, and a handout to complete while visiting the supermarket.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Patricia Petherbridge-Hernandez

Elder Literacy Initiative

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This curriculum was developed for volunteers working 1:1 with pre-literate ESL students. All materials are ready-made and available digitally through dropbox or google drive. This curriculum is organized by 13 instructional themes that are relevant and authentic to adults of any age, with a special focus on learners who are 65+. The curriculum guidelines are informed by Massachusetts ABE Basic Literacy Standards, training materials from the Minnesota Literacy Council, and Transitions Integration Framework. The materials are easy to use with pre-literate learners 1:1, in small groups, or in classroom settings. All activities are leveled and include detailed instructions, tips, and extension ideas. This curriculum can be adapted and edited to suit your community. For more information, please visit www.elderliteracy.org .

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Burgen Young, Lisa Vogl, Missy Staloch

Digital Learn

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Digital Learn is a website with a variety of tutorials for adults who are new to using computers (on topics such as introduction to email, navigating a website, and online job searching).

Material Type: Interactive

Persuasion Across Time and Space

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This unit shows instructional approaches that are likely to help ELLs meet new standards in English Language Arts. Built around a set of famous persuasive speeches, the unit supports students in reading a range of complex texts. It invites them to write and speak in a variety of ways and for different audiences and purposes. Students engage in close reading of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech, Aristotleí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s Three Appeals, Robert Kennedyí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s On the Assassination of Martin Luther King, and George Wallaceí˘ä‰ĺ䋢s The Civil Rights Movement: Fraud, Sham, and Hoax, Barbara Jordaní˘ä‰ĺ䋢s All Together Now. The five lesson culminate with student's constructing their own persuasive texts.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Using Sensory Adjectives to Write Descriptive Paragraphs

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This lesson works well with developing writers to help them learn to incorporate strong sensory adjectives into their writing. Students begin by completing a Five Senses Chart and progress to writing a full descriptive paragraph based on a picture prompt. This material was remixed based on "I Spy": Using adjectives and descriptive phrases by Elizabeth Hutchens. The remixed lesson was created to be used with adult learners. The original lesson can be found by clicking on the link that is included with this resource.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Stephanie Sommers

Using Sentence Strips to Practice Transition Words

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This lesson works well with developing writers to help them learn to incorporate transition words into their writing. Students begin by manipulating sentence strips to illustrate how changing the transition words in a piece of text changes the overall meaning. Then they complete a chart that helps them to understand that there are a variety of transition words, and they are used for specific purposes and to signal different relationships between ideas. This material was remixed based on Transition Words and Phrases by DPI Writing Strategies. The remixed lesson was created to be used with adult learners. The original lesson can be found by clicking on the link that is included with this resource.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Stephanie Sommers

Listen Up!

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This activity deals with the concept of rhyming. This concept is not immediately understood by most students and needs to be explained first with ample examples. The activity consists of groups of 3 words two of which rhyme and one doesn't. Students read the words or listen to the instructor and select the word that doesn't rhyme. They are then directed to pick a specific letter from the "wrong" word and write it in a separate column. After completing the assignment students unscramble the letters trying to form a meaningful expression related to listening which in this case is "I'm all ears".

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Interactive

Author: not stated

Identifying Text Structure

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This is a lesson plan, student worksheet, and teacher answer key to introduce identifying text structures and using appropriate graphic organizers (GO) for each text structure. There is an introduction with a video lecture from which students can get basic information and examples on 6 text structures. There is a link to more guided and independent work in this area. The author used this lesson in a pre-GED Adult Basic Education class with non-native English speakers who read at a 5.0 - 8.0 GLE.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Heather Turngren

Silent Letters

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This light activity deals with "silent letters" of English language which are encountered in a large number of English language words. Students read a fairly simple dialogue with the blanks for words containing silent letters. Silent letters, however, are listed while the rest of the letters are blanked. Students find the missing words and become aware of silent letters. Great activity for a warm-up.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive

Author: not stated

Logical Fallacies Student Exploration Chart

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This chart can be used by students to record what they learn about the logical fallacies that are explained on the website yourlogicalfallacyis.com This chart can be altered by users to focus on any logical fallacies that are relevant to the lesson. The column headings can also be changed to create a new chart that students can use to identify and track examples of logical fallacies that appear in any text.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Interactive

Author: Stephanie Sommers