Contextualised literacy and numeracy resources for vocational and academic learning

Free Printable Resources for Adult Basic Skills Students and Teachers last updated 06/07/08
This new section contains contextualised resources for vocational courses. PLEASE contribute! Resources are available in a variety of formats. Learn more about downloading, saving or printing our worksheets. Find out how you con obtain editable Word versions.
Art, Film and Media
PDF	Film spellings helps students put 20 spellings in context and makes them more interesting and easier to learn. Contributed by Karen Bruin. 2 pages. 15K Ww/E3.1 Ww/L1.1 Ww/L2.1
PDF	The Renaissance is a handy web research and reading worksheet for art students (Literacy or Key Skills). Contributed by Lisa Roberts lisa.roberts@cornwall.ac.uk Cornwall College 40K. 1 page. Rt/L1.1 L1.4 L1.5, Rt/L2.1 L2.6 L2.7.
Catering
PDF	Themed multiplication problems has two sets of real-life problems to solve. Page 1 (5 problems) is based on a motorist, page 2 (6 problems) on a waitress. Great for practising chosen written method of multiplication (e.g. traditional, lattice or grid). Contributed by John Wood, BHTS, North Devon College JohnWood@ndevon.ac.uk 3 pages. 70K N1/L1.3
PDF	Water content of fruits & vegetables provides interesting practice with percentages, rounding decimals and calculator use. Keith Ball, Newcastle (Staffs). Thank you Keith. 2 pages. 23K. N2/L1.7 N2/L1.11 N2/L2.9 N2/L2.2
PDF	Decimals in the Kitchen. Great way to practise adding and subtracting decimals. Ideal for any students with an interest in cooking. Judith White, Somerset Skills & Learning. 4 pages. 110K N2/L1.5 MSS1/E3.1 MSS1/L1.1
Construction
ZIP	OCR E3 listening task (removing a pane of glass) is a clever way of practising OCR E3 Task 1 (listening for gist, detail and new information) and could also be easily edited to add your own listening materials. Contributed by Moira Garland m.garland@parklanecoll.ac.uk Park Lane College, Leeds. Thank you Moira. 14K zipped PowerPoint. 3 slides. SLlr/E3.1 SLlr/E3.2 SLlr/E3.3 (Please read the notes area of slide 1 for teaching instructions).
PDF	ICT exercises for construction - bricklaying students. 4 step by step exercises allowing construction students to produce professional looking invoices, job costings and an illustrated list of tools. Contributed by Cathy Barton, cathy.barton@glasgowmet.ac.uk Glasgow Metropolitan College. 5 pages. 35K. See also L1 ICT Skills for Life / CLAIT.
PDF	Keywords for brickwork provides 2 sets of keywords to learn using look, cover, write check. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 2 pages. 20K. Ww/E3.1 Ww/L1.1
PDF	Dangers of working with cement: skimming, scanning and comprehension exercise. A great way of improving reading skills whilst learning important health and safety information. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 65K. 3 pages. Rt/E3.6 Rt/E3.7 Rt/E3.8 Rt/L1.5 Rt/L2.7
PDF	Cavity wall construction. Cloze exercises. A great way of improving reading and grammar skills alongside vocational knowledge. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 25K. 2 pages. Rt/E3.1 Rt/L1.1 Rs/E3.2 Rs/L1.1
PDF	Bricklaying wordsearch for key vocabulary. Find 15 hidden words. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 45K. 2 pages. Rw/E3.1 Rw/L1.2
PDF	Brickwork: spelling key vocabulary. Spot the misspelled words and see if you can correct them. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk Thank you Gill. 20K. 2 pages. Ww/E3.1 Ww/L1.1
PDF	Brickwork: Subject - verb agreement for construction. Select from is/are to create grammatically correct sentences. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 60K. 1 page. Ws/E3.2 Ws/L1.2
PDF	Health and safety signs for construction. Fill-in exercise for Entry level students. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 100K. 4 pages. Rt/E1.2
PDF	Bricklaying in hot and cold weather. Two cloze exercises. A great way of improving reading and grammar skills alongside vocational knowledge. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 30K. 2 pages. Rt/E3.1 Rt/L1.1 Rs/E3.2 Rs/L1.1
Electrical /electronics
ecw	Electrical words crossword consists of 21 word and clues - great vocabulary and spelling practice for learners on electronics / electrical courses or anyone with an interest in this topic. Makes a good revision or warm up activity. (Crosswords can be saved as interactive web pages which can be used on a smartboard as a whole class activity). Contributed by Janet Wilkins, Royal Forest of Dean College College janet_w@rfdc.ac.uk 3K ecw file. Free Eclipse crossword software is needed to view, edit and print this file. Ww/L2.1 Rw/L2.1
Employment skills
DOC	CV templates two very useful templates can be used for word processing or as an outline planner/ writing frame. Contributed by Steve Mangan. 2 pages. 40K. Use in conjunction with Steve's CV - Telephone Skills PPT (below). 40K. Also filed under General E3 Writing Resources, General L1 writing resources, ICT resources.
ZIP	CV and Telephone Skills is a super presentation full of useful tips for writing your CV, answering the telephone, taking messages, etc. Contributed by Steve Mangan. Use in conjunction with Steve's CV templates (above). Also filed under General E3 Writing and Speaking/Listening resources, General L1 writing and speaking /listening resources. 11 slides. 40K zipped PPT file.
Gardening
PDF	Plant prices provides excellent practice in multiplying whole numbers and decimals (money) by 10 and 100. Written for L1 students with an interest in gardening but suitable for any group of L1 learners, including those studying NVQ L1 or L2 Horticulture, Gardening, etc. Differentiation is easily catered for as the first page covers only multiplying and dividing by 10 (a useful stepping stone for some students). Page 2 covers both x10 and x100. Contributed by Sonia Hartman, Stoke on Trent College College sonia.hartman@stokecoll.ac.uk 3 pages. 80K N1/L1.4 N2/L1.6
PDF	Gardening - multiplication and division problems. OCR sample task 3 - 4 themed questions ideal for practice and revision. Contributed by Judith White, Somerset Skills & Learning. Thank you Judith. 3 pages. 20K. N1/E3.4 N1/E3.5 N1/E3.6 N1/E3.9
PDF	Decimals in the Garden. Great way to practise adding and subtracting decimals. Ideal for any students with an interest in gardening. Judith White, Somerset Skills & Learning. 4 pages. 120K N2/L1.5 MSS1/E3.1 MSS1/L1.1
Hairdressing - Beauty Therapy
PDF	Plastic surgery is an interesting article, quiz, research and writing task for Level 2 Beauty Therapy /Care students or any Literacy students interested in this topic (originally written for teenagers) Contributed by Janet Wilkins, Royal Forest of Dean College College janet_w@rfdc.ac.uk Thank you Janet. 5 pages. 100K. Will be filed under General L2 reading, General L2 writing and Contextualised resources.
PDF	Important spellings for hairdressers is a useful practice list that can be kept in students folders. Contributed by Debbie Hulse, Cannock Chase Technical College, 1 page. 16K. Ww/E3.1 Ww/L1.1 Ww/L2.1
PDF	The best hairdo for your face is an unpunctuated text. Students must add capital letters, commas, full stops and apostrophes so that it makes sense. Contributed by Debbie Hulse, Cannock Chase Technical College, Thank you Debbie. 3 pages (with answer sheet). 70K. Rs/L1.2 Ws/L2.4 Ws/L1.3 Rs/L2.2
PDF	Hairstyles - do you stereotype? is a lovely sorting exercise that could also be used to stimulate discussion in non-hairdressing classes! Contributed by Debbie Hulse, Cannock Chase Technical College. 1 page. 40K. Rw/L1.2.
PDF	Vocabulary cards for hairdressers are very useful for all types of spelling, vocabulary or alphabetical ordering work. Contributed by Debbie Hulse, Cannock Chase Technical College. 1 page. 15K. Rw/L2.1 Ww/L2.1 Rw/E3.4 Rw/L1.2
PDF	Costing toolkits two task sheets - one for beauty therapists, one for motor vehicles etc. Find information, work out total cost, mean and range, display your results in a chart. (Originally used for Level 1 Key Skills Application of Number portfolio work N1.1, N1.2, N1.3.). 2 pages. 100K. Contributed by Jan Robinson, Chelmer Training janrobinson@chelmer-training.co.uk
PDF	Live the lotto dream version 2 (for hairdressing / beauty therapy AoN students) is a great project that covers many L1/2 numeracy elements. You win the lottery, buy a salon and have to furnish it from catalogues and/or Internet sites. Learn about budgeting, displaying data, working with areas and floor plans, bank statements, rounding, estimating, and much more. Everything must be written up as a comprehensive report with a clear conclusion (a great guidance page on report writing is included in the resource). Contributed by Jenny Jupe, Eastleigh College jjupe@eastleigh.ac.uk
Health and Safety
PDF	Health and Safety is a fabulous set of differentiated reading activities for E1-E3. Order sentences to make a gruesome story, read and answer questions on manual handling (inc. graphical information), enjoy an amusing story about a Health and Safety inspector or a topical news report. Contributed by Laurence Fletcher, Wolverhampton City College / Adult Education Service laurencebrc@yahoo.com Thank you Laurence. 7 pages. 260K. Rt/E3.1 Rt/E3.4 Rt/E3.9 Rt/E2.1 Rt/E1.1 Will also be filed under Health and Safety on the contextualised resources page.
History
PDF	Henry VIII is a Level 2 text with comprehension questions and is ideal for any student with an interest in History. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 2 pages. 90K Rw/L2.2 Rw/L2.3 Rt/L2.1
PDF	pre-Roman Britain and Boudicca’s revolt 5 page workpack covers punctuation and vocabulary. Written for history students that are also covering basic literacy but useful for any students with an interest in ancient Britain. Contributed by Gill Gallagher, Barnsley College g.gallagher@barnsley.ac.uk 280K. Rs/E3.3 Ws/E3.3 Rw/L1.1 Rs/L1.2 Ws/L1.3 Rw/L2.2 Rw/L2.3 Rs/L2.2 Ws/L2.4
PDF	The Renaissance is a handy web research and reading worksheet for art students (Literacy or Key Skills). Contributed by Lisa Roberts lisa.roberts@cornwall.ac.uk Cornwall College 40K. 1 page. Rt/L1.1 L1.4 L1.5, Rt/L2.1 L2.6 L2.7.
Motor Vehicles and Transport
PDF	Mountain bike percentages provides lots of sequential practice working out percentage parts, increase, decrease and VAT. Three fill-in tables, all based on 4 large mountain bike posters. Contributed by Julie Hobson, Northern Learning Trust. 8 pages. 140K. N2/L1.9 N2/L1.10 N2/L2.7 N2/L2.8 and also under Transport on the contextualised resources page.
PDF	Fuel prices is a very topical resource originally written for a group of older returning learners to help them see how maths skills can help in everyday life. Covers decimal place value and ordering; subtracting and multiplying decimals (inc. x10); and finding the range. Contributed by Jean Thomas (The Henley College) jean@jeanthomas.co.uk 3 pages. 40K N2/L1.4 N2/L1.5 N2/L1.6 HD1/L1.4
PDF	Themed multiplication problems has two sets of real-life problems to solve. Page 1 (5 problems) is based on a motorist, page 2 (6 problems) on a waitress. Great for practising chosen written method of multiplication (e.g. traditional, lattice or grid). Contributed by John Wood, BHTS, North Devon College JohnWood@ndevon.ac.uk 3 pages. 70K N1/L1.3
PDF	Level 2 car maths provides excellent practice with many Level 2 elements including fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, converting measures, and using formulae. Contributed by Gordon Noblett gnoblett@accross.ac.uk Accrington and Rossendale College 10 questions. 2 pages with answer sheet. 60K. N1/L2.2 N1/L2.3 N1/L2.4 N2/L2.6 N2/L2.3 N2/L2.7 N2/L2.8 N2/L2.9 N2/L2.10 MSS1/L2.6 Also filed under contextual resources.
PDF	Working with decimals - petrol price and car accessories multi-sensory activities. Great way to practise adding, subtracting and multiplying decimals. Ideal for Motor Vehicle students and any E3-L2 learners that are interested in cars. Judith White, Somerset Skills & Learning. 9 pages. 300K N2/L1.5 N2/L1.7 N2/L2.6 MSS1/E3.1 MSS1/L1.1 MSS1/L2.1
Nursing, Care, Childcare and Health
PDF	Living in Poverty is a thought provoking article from the Nursing Times. It is used in this literacy assessment for possible Access to Healthcare students. The accompanying questions are designed to check whether students are working at level 2 standards and can follow an argument, summarise information, recognise bias, distinguish between fact and opinion, and write using supporting evidence. Contributed by Billy Count, Abingdon and Witney College. Thank you Billy. 3 pages. 20K Rt/L2.4 Rt/L2.5 Rt/L2.8 Wt/L2.6
PDF	Costing-up a nursery is ideal for L2 childcare students studying L1 AoN (Key Skills). Clear step by step directions on what to do - research, calculate, find averages, create a scale diagram, etc. Contributed by Bev Haley, Rathbone, Dewsbury. Thank you Bev. 1 page. Also filed under General L1 number, L1 Measure and L1 Data handling
PDF	Live the lotto dream version 3 (for Childcare / AoN students) is a great project that covers many L1/2 numeracy elements. You win the lottery, buy a nursery and have to furnish it from catalogues and/or Internet sites. Learn about budgeting, displaying data, working with areas and floor plans, bank statements, rounding, estimating, and much more. Everything must be written up as a comprehensive report with a clear conclusion (a great guidance page on report writing is included in the resource). Contributed by Helen Connell, Joseph Priestley College, Leeds (Thank you Helen) who adapted it from the original resource by Dave Walkden, Duchy College, and another adaptation (for hairdressing /beauty therapy students) from Jenny Jupe, Eastleigh College. 6 pages. 230K. Covers many elements Also filed general number, data and measure resources. Please note: The original resource (buying and fitting out a new flat) and hairdressing version both still available.
tarsia fjsw	Care workers vocabulary is a 16 piece triangular jigsaw puzzle where pairs or small groups of learners must match 18 words to their correct definitions. Use as an ice breaker or plenary activity. Guaranteed to create promote discussion as learners solve puzzle (best laminated). As usual with Tarsia puzzles, you can choose to print a standard or large puzzle (select Output - large, i.e. 3 pieces per A4 sheet). Contributed by Pauline Bicker, Northern Learning Trust pbicker@northernlearningtrust.org.uk 10K Rw/L2.1 Please note the words & definitions are from BBC Skillswise care vocab fact sheets http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/vocabulary/wordsforwork/care/index.shtml Created with Tarsia Formulator (see our Useful Links page for further details) which is available for free download.
DOC	Severe bleeding drag and drop interactive worksheet provides great practice in reading and ordering instructions. Originally used in a Pathway to Nursing course. Contributed by Laura Jeffrey, Matthew Boulton College, ljeffrey@mbc.ac.uk 2 pages. 60K. Rt/E3.3. Please also download teachers' notes (below).
DOC	Chemical and thermal burns drag and drop interactive worksheet provides great practice in reading and ordering instructions. Originally used in a Pathway to Nursing course. Contributed by Laura Jeffrey, Matthew Boulton College, ljeffrey@mbc.ac.uk 2 pages. 60K. Rt/E3.3. Please also download teachers' notes (below).
DOC	Mouth to mouth resuscitation drag and drop interactive worksheet provides great practice in reading and ordering instructions. Originally used in a Pathway to Nursing course. Contributed by Laura Jeffrey, Matthew Boulton College, ljeffrey@mbc.ac.uk 2 pages. 60K. Rt/E3.3. Please also download teachers' notes (below).
PDF	Teachers' notes and answer sheets for 3 drag and drop health - nursing interactive worksheets (above). Contributed by Laura Jeffrey, Matthew Boulton College, ljeffrey@mbc.ac.uk 1 pages. 30K. Rt/E3.3
Painting and decorating
PDF	Writing a job programme is a great 3 hour Key Skills Communication / Literacy Level 1 lesson plan for Painting & Decorating students. Also includes cards for hands-on planning and discussion (in small groups) and work sheet / writing frame for drafting a job program for a 3 bedroom house. Contributed by Clive Robertson, Newcastle College. clive.robertson@ncl-coll.ac.uk 7 pages. 40K. Covers elements in SLlr, SLc, SLd, Rt, Ws, Wt, Ww. Also listed under General Level 1 literacy
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