Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
RSS Feeds & Widgets
Throughout the week, Colorín Colorado gathers news headlines related to English language learners from around the country. The ELL News Headlines are posted Monday through Friday and are available for free!
You can receive automatic updates of the headlines through our RSS Feed or our widget. More information explaining these tools is available below.
What Is RSS?
RSS (originally "Rich Site Summary" and now often defined as "Really Simple Syndication") is a tool that allows you to receive automatic updates of online content as soon as it's posted. RSS feeds are particularly common with news-related websites and blogs whose content changes regularly. Through RSS feeds, you are able to compile updates from your websites of interest in one place without having to visit multiple websites or subscribe to multiple newsletters.
For a helpful overview of how RSS works, take a look at the RSS in Plain English video from Common Craft.
How do I use RSS?
RSS Reader
In order to install an RSS feed, you must first choose an RSS reader. These readers allow you to create a personalized homepage and pull in content from different sources. Some examples include:
Once you choose a reader, you must set up an account if you don't already have one with that provider. (If you have an e-mail account with Google or Yahoo, for example, you can use the same account and log-in information.) After your account has been created, you can start adding content!
To add content:
- Go to the website or blog that you wish to follow.
- Click on the RSS icon (
) or the icon for your reader. You will then see feed page. - Click on the button of your reader to install the feed.
Voila — you have added an RSS feed to your reader!
Live Bookmarks
If you use Firefox as your browser, you can also try something called Live Bookmarks. This feature allows you to add a bookmark to your browser that automatically updates with new content from the feed. Firefox offers step-by-step explanations for using Live Bookmarks on its website.
Add Feed
If you click an RSS link but do not have a compatible reader installed, you can copy and paste the feed URL into your reader under "Add Subscription" or "Add Feed."
ELL News Widget
Another option for automatic updates is our ELL News widget, an application you can install on your website or social media page.
Your web page
- If you have a personal or class web page, you can add this Widget to your site.
- Click on "Get Widget" at the bottom of the Widget.
- The embed code box should display with a copy button.
- Copy the embed code and place it in the HTML code in your web page.
Your social media site
- If you have a blog or an account on Facebook, MySpace or other social media sites, you can add this Widget to your page.
- Click on "Get Widget" at the bottom of the Widget.
- Select the icon of a social media site where you have an account.
- Follow the specific site instructions to add it to your site.
Search Colorín Colorado
My favorite part of the site is definitely the topics from A-Z. The topics are extensive and the advice is amazing. I use this stuff in Australia and recommend it to other teachers here!
~ Dolina C.
