Welcome to Literacy Minnesota's online training site.

We offer training for adult literacy volunteers and professional development courses for Adult Basic Education teachers and staff. There are also a few courses that offer content directly to adult learners. If you work or volunteer in another setting, such as K-12 education, you are welcome to browse our resources. Simply keep in mind that the intended audience is adult learners and the practitioners who work with them.

If you are new to this site, you may create a Username and Password by clicking Create new account under the login box to the left. If you have previously used this site but have lost or forgotten your login information, contact Susan Wetenkamp-Brandt at swbrandt@literacymn.org.

Note: if you have not logged in for more than 6 months, you may need to create a new account. Accounts unused for 180 days or more may be deleted to make space for new users.

If you are not a resident of Minnesota, please read the Out-of-State Users Policy document below.

Good Luck! If you have any questions or encounter any problems while using this site, please contact Susan.

Available courses

Literacy Leadership VISTA Member Orientation

Required orientation for Literacy Leadership AmeriCorps VISTA members.

Summer Reads VISTA Member Orientation

Required orientation for Summer Reads AmeriCorps VISTA members.

Suicide Prevention for Adult Educators

This course is for Adult Basic Education practitioners to learn about suicide prevention best practices.  

This course offers 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Volunteer in the Adult ESL Classroom

This training prepares new volunteers to work in an adult ESL classroom, and provides ongoing development for experienced classroom volunteers. Topics covered include volunteer roles, culture and cultural awareness, responding to errors, and effective floating in the ESL classroom.

Approximate time to complete course: 3 hours.

Tutoring Basics

Tutoring Basics will provide you with core strategies for structuring a tutoring session that is intentional and skill-based. If you’re new to tutoring K-12 students, this workshop is a great place to start!

E-mail Kelly at krynda@mnliteracy.org for access to this course.

Foundations of Intercultural Development

Introductory course that provides a foundation for further learning. Appropriate for those who work with public school students and their managers/supervisors.

E-mail Kelly at krynda@mnliteracy.org for access to this course.

Reducing the Stigma of Mental Illness

This course is for Adult Basic Education practitioners to learn strategies to reduce the stigma of mental illness.


This course offers 3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). 

Orientation to GED 2014 for ABE Teachers

This course is for teachers who are new to teaching students preparing for the 2014 GEDR. Participants will review the basics of the GED, content students will need, and instructional suggestions to prepare students.

ACES 101: Integrating Academic, Career, and Employability Skills in ABE

A course for Adult Basic Education practitioners who are new to Minnesota's ACES framework for transitions skills.

ACES Project: Academic, Career and Employability Skills

This course is not currently available.

ACES Trainers

This is a space for the ACES training team to access & share resources, communicate, and provide feedback.

Teaching CCRS Reading Foundational Skills

This interactive course will help ABE/ESL teachers and tutors improve their understanding, testing, and teaching of beginning alphabetics and fluency. These 2 reading components align with 4 College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), Reading Foundational (RF) Skills, at Levels A-C or K-5. The instructor and participants will negotiate relevant course and activity completion for 3-6 Continuing Education Units.

Citizenship Tutor Training

The Citizenship Tutor Training educates teachers and tutors to assist students in preparing for United States Citizenship through naturalization.

This course offers 3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Approximate time to complete course: 3 hours.

Computer Literacy Curriculum Planning

This course will provide resources and tools for planning and implementing a computer literacy course for adult learners.

This course takes approximately 6 hours to complete and offers 6 CEUs.

Northstar Foundations: Digital Literacy Integration for Adult Basic Education

This course provides an introduction to methods for integrating Northstar digital literacy standards in an adult education setting.

Distance Learning Basics for Adult Basic Education

In this course you will learn basics of setting up and running a Distance Learning program for adult learners. This course has content for DL teachers, managers, and support staff. CEUs for the course are as follows: 3 CEUs for support staff, 4 CEUs for teachers, and 5 CEUs for managers.

Explicit Instruction for ABE

This interactive course will help ABE/ESL teachers and tutors improve their knowledge and use of explicit instruction, a research-based method for teaching reading, writing, and math. Full completion offers 3 Continuing Education Units (based on approximately 3 hours of course activity time).

Fundamentals of Adult ESL Curriculum Development


This course will offer volunteers, teachers, and program managers an overview of the curriculum development process and provide tools and resources for evaluating and writing curriculum for adult English learners.

This course offers 6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Approximate time to complete course: 6 hours.

Reading Assessments for ABE

This interactive course will help ABE/ESL teachers and tutors understand the purpose and use of reading assessments: CASAS, TABE, and other diagnostic tests for determining alphabetics, fluency, and vocabulary needs. Full completion offers 4 Continuing Education Units (based on approximately 4 hours of course activity time).

Teaching Grammar in Adult ESL

This course will provide teachers and tutors with practical ways to teach grammar as an integrated part of an adult English as a Second Language (ESL) class.

This course offers 5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).Approximate time to complete course: 5 hours.

Using Volunteers in the Classroom


This class will provide ABE and ESL teachers with ideas for effectively using volunteers in their classrooms.

This course offers 2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).Approximate time to complete course: 2 hours.

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Preparation

This course will prepare adult learners for a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant.

Child Development Career Preparation

This course will prepare adult learners for a career in the care of young children.

Integrated Medical Terminology

This course will prepare adult learners for a career in a medical office setting.

Manufacturing Career Preparation

This course will prepare adult learners for a career in manufacturing.

MNPCC Grade 4 English Language Arts

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

English/Language Arts 8 - In Development

English/Language Arts 9

English/Language Arts 10

MNPCC Grade 11 Language Arts

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 12 Language Arts

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

English Grade 12 - Moodle Version

This semester course is meant to connect the earliest forms of human writing to the kinds of stories we tell and where we might be heading.

Students will work on reading early human literature; exposure to Greek Mythology and British Romanticism. They will also work on the processes of preparing, evaluating, and delivering multiple forms of written communication.

Course Syllabus

Grade 3 Math

Grade 4 Math

Grade 5 Math

MNPCC Grade 6 Math

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 7 Math

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

Grade 8 Math

Intermediate Algebra - In Development

Science Grade 5

MNPCC Grade 6 Science

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 7 Science

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

Science Grade 8

MNPCC Grade 10 Biology

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Chemistry

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Physics

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 3 Ancient Civilizations

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 4 Social Studies

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 5 U.S. Studies up to 1800

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 6 Minnesota Studies

This is a 6th grade, year-long course aligned to MN State Academic Standards. It is a collaborative effort by over a dozen MN School districts.

This version of the course uses embedded Google Docs so that course updates may be made via the MNPCC.

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 7 U.S. Studies

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC Grade 8 Global Studies

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC High School Economics

This course is a teacher resource only. It is not for student enrollment.

MNPCC High School Government

This course is a teacher resource only.  It is not for student enrollment.

HS Geography