Reading comprehension

Topical set of resources covering reading, writing and discussion.Two simplified texts – one writer likes fireworks; the other does not! What do you think?
Ideal for, and fully mapped to, Entry Level 1 and 2 Functional English. With teaching tips and extension ideas.

E3 reading comprehension based on a short news article about the replacement of ASBOs with criminal behaviour orders.

Questions cover purpose and layout of text, general comprehension and vocabulary. Ideal for, and fully mapped to, E3 Functional English. Teaching tips also included.

An article based on an on-line BBC News story. There are comprehension questions, along with vocabulary and spelling tasks. The final task is short writing exercise based on the text.

Comprehension questions, writing and discussion based on car adverts. This resource is suitable for motor vehicle students, or a more general audience.

Learners can discuss the important features of a car advert and the advice they would give their tutor. They can then practice writing their own car adverts (not full sentences). They can also write down the advice they would give their tutor, using full sentences and paying attention to spelling and punctuation.

Ideal for, and fully mapped to, Entry 2-3 Functional Skills English.

A reading exercise that practises reading instructions in the context of hair and beauty. A real life text accompanied by questions to assess reading in detail, responding to a text, purpose of text, and commenting on how meaning is conveyed.
Ideal for, and fully mapped to, L1-2 Functional English.

Excellent set of reading comprehension, vocabulary (definitions, synonyms, antonyms), grammar (parts of speech) and writing tasks (write an article) on this emotive topic. Based on a BBC “On this day” article.
Also ideal for prompting a Level 1 or 2 Functional English discussion.

Embedded literacy and Functional English for animal lovers! Also ideal for ESOL.
A beautiful set of three resources.

• Birds of prey technical vocabulary PPT (with link to a video) L1-L2
• Birds of prey gap fill (subject-verb agreement) E3-L1
• British Birds of prey reading comprehension L2 (also great for ESOL leaerners who will also learn some geography about the major British hill areas)

For more of Kathy’s British animal resources go to ‘see also’ below.

Everything you need for embedding literacy / Functional English into a teaching session that looks at drugs.

Learners explore the types types of drugs and also some of the origins of the problem. It covers types of text and some reading and spelling, including segmenting. There is also a ‘DARTs’ type exercise that explores how to treat a person who may become ill, instructions to re-order, and posters to laminate and discuss.

Some of the posters are quite powerful and may require discretion with their use, but are good illustrations of this type of text.

Interesting set of reading questions – covering purpose of text, analysis of text / organisation features, and recognising main points and detail. Based on a real life document from ‘Parker’ Guide to Road Tax’. Ideal for Embedding L1-2 Functional English / literacy into Motor Vehicle courses or for any students with an interest in the costs of running a car.

An adaptation of the text originally contributed by Amanda Burgess. I’ve simplified it for ESOL E2-E3 learners and added a vocab box as well – either for learners to investigate themselves or to be taught by the tutor ( Eg,What other charities do you know about….What other ways do charities use to raise money…etc).

From an ESOL point of view, the resource ties in with the core curriculum reading descriptors as well as the ‘Getting Involved in the Community’ part of the Citizenship syllabus.