Useful links for Adult Basic Skills Tutors: professional development, exams, government agencies, books, research, software, accessibility, learning styles, study support, embedded learning, college and community learning sites

Useful Links for Basic Skills Tutors
All 300 links last checked 15/04/07. Latest link added 05/07/08

Good Books
	Avanti Books the major UK supplier for "the most comprehensive supplier of resources to support basic skills teaching... cover literacy, numeracy and ESOL; key skills and workplace basic skills; family literacy and lifelong learning...". Good friendly service too! They also sell the BSA books mentioned above.
	CGP Books brilliant publishers of low cost (maximum cost about £4.50) revision and workbooks for all levels of the UK Schools National Curriculum from KS1 through to A level. Some are great for adults too as they are well written, colourful and explain everything clearly and with a sense of humour. Favourites include the GCSE Maths Foundation Level Workbook (order the answer book too so students can self check their work) and revision book. The GCSE English Grammar Book has good reference sections on homophones, punctuation, etc. Level 1 and 2 Adult Lit/Num practice papers now available. These are great! (select 'product range' and then 'adult education'). All original texts in the literacy papers (not copied from past papers). Four packs (£4 each). Each includes 24 practice papers of 10 questions each. These are arranged in curriculum areas so are great for working on throughout the year when focusing on individual topics. For example, in the Level 1 numeracy pack there are 6 papers on whole numbers, 5 on fractions decimals and percentage, 6 on common measures, etc. Literacy follows a similar pattern: for example at Level 1 there are 8 papers on reading text, 1 paper on sentence level work, 2 on vocabulary, 6 on spelling etc.
	English Basics Books 1-3 by Mark Cholij. Great because they are suitable for adults, both native English speakers and ESL students. Each book includes 30 topics - covering punctuation, spelling and grammar at a range of levels. Each section has initial tasks, followed by a reference section and further exercises (answers at the back!). Sentences, capital letters, full stops, adding -ed, -ing, irregular verbs, negative prefixes, colons, hyphens, homophones, confusing words, informal speech, formal English, various noun endings. etc. We got ours from Amazon.co.uk within three days of ordering.
	Gatehouse Books publishes a great selection of adult beginner reader books for use in Adult (and post 14) Literacy and ESOL. Many have been written by adults who are developing their own literacy skills, for example Secrets by Sue Torr and Getting Better by Marie MacNamara. Gatehouse's ever-increasing collection also includes audio cassettes and interactive CDRoms. Teaching packs and worksheets are available to accompany many of the books. Useful thumbnail views of books are available on the site.
	Maths The Basic Skills (June Haighton) is an excellent book from Nelson Thornes (ISBN 0-7487-7700-8). Covers all numeracy elements from E3 to L2 with clear explanations and lots of practice exercises (answers at back). Great for students studying for Level 1 or Level 2 numeracy as they often need to dip back to Entry 3 in some areas. Related packs of worksheets for Entry 1 and 2 numeracy (one pack each for number, measure and data) also available plus new E1-2 workbooks. Recommended by Di Mellor, Darlington College (thank you).
	More Mathematical Activities (Brian Bolt, Cambridge University Press 1985). Thanks to Susan Susan Allen for suggesting this book. Susan particularly recommends the divisibility investigation (no 113). The activities are supposed to be for school children but much of the book contains quite advanced activities. Out of print but there seem to be plenty of copies available on EBay!
	NEC (National Extension College) have a range of Skills for Life workbooks and publications for both self study and tutor led literacy and numeracy. You can download free preview packs of some titles.
	31/05/08 updated New Leaf Publishing has an exciting range of attractive and very readable books for adults who are new to reading. Audio CDs are available to accompany all 'Beginner Readers'. New Leaf has also published beautiful new editions of many titles previously published by The Gatehouse Publishing Charity (including old favourites such as The Cardigan and The Bin Men). There's also a great selection of Lifeline CDs - powerful stories written by prisoners and read by professional readers. Site has now had a major overhaul - you can now purchase books and CDs online and listen to many sample audio tracks (inc slow reading tracks).
	Quick Reads are a series of short (max 120 pages) quick reads from popular authors and/or celebrities. A new set were published on World Book Day 6th March 08. All are reasonably priced at £1.99. The site has details on all the books plus links to the literacytrust.org.uk which has free Word and PDF resources related to the latest books (I like the suggested extension activities for Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsey) and previous 2006-07 books. There are also free publicity materials and an interesting personal recount from a Skills for Life literacy teacher (about how she uses Quick Reads in her classes at Tamworth College).
	Richard Lederer has written many books about English language and usage. All are easy to read, fun and full of ideas and snippets of information that make great warm up activities (E3 upwards). My favourite is Crazy English (followed closely by The Write Way and The Play of Words - all available from Amazon.co.uk). His site also has a great page of language links to word games, oxymora, palindromes, grammar, online dictionaries and much more.

Embedded and Contextual Learning (literacy and numeracy)
	The Basic Skills Agency at NIACE (see our entry under DfES and Government agencies) has a great new series of embedded learning leaflets entitled 'Survival Skills in the workplace' (retail, hairdressing, motor vehicle and many others) that give an overview of the literacy and numeracy skills needed in each vocation.
	University of Plymouth Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching - Mathematics Enhancement Programme (previously based at Exeter University). Now has a new Topical applications of Maths area with resources, OHTs and lesson plans. Topics covered include: Fair Trade, lottery, global warming and many more. This is one of my favourite and most used sites - check out the ILT page for details of the equally good interactive tutorials and the Printable resource page for details of their many PDF resources.
	Embedded Learning Portal (DfES) has dozens of great downloadable Skills for Life resources - all mapped to Core Curricula, Key Skills and Occupational standards (main focus seems to be roughly E2-L1 but there are some great Milestone 7-8 /E1 literacy resources in the Family Care section). Currently covers Horticulture, Social Care, Family Health, Trowel Occupations and Communication for International Nurses. Now with 92 interactive activities covering literacy and numeracy from M7-L2. Now also includes Skilled for Health materials - these address people’s needs for a better understanding and improvement of their health. PLEASE NOTE. If you have difficulties viewing the interactive materials on lower resolution monitors press F11 to view full screen.
	Learners.org from the Greater Manchester Community Grid for Learning is a free service open to all adults in Greater Manchester who fancy a go at an online course or quiz, particularly those who may have missed out on educational opportunities in the past. However, even if you don't live in Manchester you can try taster courses (make sure you have speakers or headphones) in gardening, parenting, digital photography, friends and family - talk about your neighbourhood (ESOL). Many new taster courses now added to this site.
	Learning from Experience is a useful site from NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) which includes a large section on embedded learning - some very interesting and useful case studies, examples of good practice, sample ILPs , etc.
	22/06/08Skilled to go is a brand new toolkit from the Office of Fair Trading. You need to register (free) but there are some fabulous Word/PDF resources (and MP3 listening resources) here - grouped under 3 main headings: Buying & Selling, Technology (mobile phone contracts, etc.) and Utilities (electric bills, etc.). Copious teacher's notes, templates for letters of complaint, Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check tables, key words, annotated bills, and more. The listening MP3 activity about mobile phone contracts would be ideal for teenagers. There are also videos (dodgy dealers, car boots), more MP3s (making a telephone complaint, etc), role play cards, dimension cards (don't buy furniture that's too big!), etc.
	31/05/08 Smart Shopper Guide is part of Oxfordshire Trading Standards site and is for those teaching teenagers about trading standards - includes teacher notes, lesson plans, student notes, student worksheets, crosswords, fun cartoons and other resources on a selection of topics inc. buying a car, advertising (persuasive writing), consumer rights, food labelling and more.
	MLA Museums, Libraries, Archives (Yorkshire) has an Open Doors project which offers support, information and inspiration for museum, library and archive staff and Skills for Life practitioners. The site describes ways in which mlas can work with Skills for Life learners, and the benefits that this type of partnership working can bring. There are some very useful generic downloadable resources for introducing learners to libraries, etc.
	The NRDC (see our entry under Research and Development) has many case studies (ad other research documents) about the embedded teaching and learning of adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL in a range of vocational areas (childcare, engineering, complementary healthcare, etc.) such as this research document (large 70 page PDF)
	PoliceUK if your students are thinking of joining the force this site has online versions of their numeracy and verbal reasoning tests .
	QIA Excellence Gateway - see below under DfES sites
	Skills for Work (DfES) has information (aimed at IAG workers, and employers) about the different skills required for a wide range of occupations. Plus job descriptions, details of required qualifications and skills for specific jobs. Users can also click on their 'strengths' to find suggested occupations.
	Skillsmart Retail - the Sector Skills Council for Retail with masses of information of employment, learning providers and training.
	Target Skills for Work interactive multimedia programmes aimed at workers in the passenger transport, logistics, retail, care, manufacturing, cleaning, construction and hospitality sectors. The materials concentrate on the essential literacy and numeracy skills required for work, including basic number skills, and reading, writing, speaking and listening. High quality photocopiable workbooks are also available.
	Totally Skilled is a web site (from QCA) to support awarding bodies in embedding Skills for Life in vocational qualifications. There are very useful links to PDF files from each major awarding bodies setting out how they intend to this. Plus updated regularly updated info on the new DfES Functional Skills initiative.
	Vocational numeracy online has a series of very good PDF worksheets - some teach a general skill (e.g. fractions decimals and percentages PDF or this 32 page document on measure (3MB PDF), then there are others where you can apply the skill. These are selected via a vocational menu which includes business, forestry, care, automotive, tourism, etc.
	WOA Whole Organisation Approach to Delivering Skills for Life is one of a suite of projects designed to embed Skills for Life across post compulsory education. Check out the resources page for a huge variety of guides to resources and ideas for embedding literacy, numeracy and language in vocational areas such as catering, childcare,

Hands-on Resources
	At long last! After looking for months for a supplier of small whiteboard pens and individual boards (for spelling, planning and mental maths) I found Easy Teach where I obtained 10 cream coloured boards (lines on one side , blank on reverse) and 20 small dry wipe pens for £28 (larger class packs of 30 are even cheaper). Very fast and friendly service.
	BEAM specialise in maths resources for UK primary schools (paper based and tactile - kinaesthetic) and have a huge collections of board games, counters, blocks, mirrors, etc. They also have an good 'Maths of the month' page with a range of free printables for all levels and topics.
	Firetop-Mountain EBay shops has a brilliant selection of educational dice and will put together custom sets. Dice include fractions; percentages; decimals; smileys; transport pictures; animal pictures; 6 , 8, 12 and 20 sided; giant dice; Roman numerals, and more. They provided me with a great set of 58 dice plus a storage bag for £20. Next day delivery and friendly service.

Good Software
	Basic Skills Resources offers more than 30 basic skills programs for Windows; covering literacy, numeracy and spatial skills. Each program costs only £10 (discount for 5+ programs). All available for a free 21 day trial. Titles include fractions, spelling months and days, word matching, giving change (UK currency and Euros) and much more. Ideal for Entry Level Students.
	Eclipse Crossword is a completely free downloadable program that is fast and powerful but easy enough for students to use to create their own puzzles - whilst practising spelling and sentence writing (for the clues) at the same time! Thanks to Janet Wilkins, Royal Forest of Dean College College, for suggesting this link. New 1/03/08 Janet has now contributed several crosswords to get you going! Crosswords can be printed with or without a word bank, answer key, etc. and can also be saved as interactive web pages (these make a good whole class activity on a smartboard).
	Crossword Construction Kit another excellent program, again available for free trial use, before registration of only $20 (simply pay with your UK credit card and download). We have used this program for several years - great for working on particular word endings or word strings, and parts of grammar. One of the most useful crosswords we have produced with this is based on the past tense of verbs (appearing on this site soon!). Allows import and export of clues and puzzles, built in thesaurus, fancy shaped crosswords, clues, bonus questions, etc.
	DFilm is a really fun site where you can create a short movie. Huge choice of characters and backgrounds. Then simply type your dialogue into the speech bubbles and choose your back ground music and you can create a short educational snippet in whatever subject you wish (or get your students to create one). Once finished you type in your email address and a link to the new movie is sent to you. Recommended by Ellen Lessner, Abingdon and Witney College (thank you).
	PictureGrid Editor (note this link takes you to Tower Hamlets site - log in as guest) is a quick and wonderful way to create simple drag an drop picture exercises in just a few minutes. You can can add optional sound files and link activities together. Saves as a PowerPoint, Word document or html filet. Used in the TALENT London online project - see an example activity produced with Picture grid here. Recommended by Ellen Lessner, Abingdon and Witney College (thank you).
	Whiteboard Maths (previously known as Powerpoint maths) is a CD with a huge selection of presentations designed for teachers to use with electronic whiteboards. Designed for the secondary curriculum but many presentations are suitable for Entry Level and a cut down version of the CD is available. Each presentation can also be ordered individually from the site with prices ranging from 50p to £3 each. Recommended by Di Mellor, Darlington College (thank you). Some free sample PPTs are available (you need to register - free) including odd-even numbers, mental addition, negative numbers.
	Target Skills an excellent set of eight CDs that help adults learn and practise their literacy and numeracy skills ( Entry Levels 1-3, Level 1, and New Level 2 Literacy and Numeracy and Entry 1 Resource Banks). All activities are mapped to the adult literacy and numeracy curricula with optional web based tracking for tutors. Plus the Target Skills Initial Assessment disc that checks literacy and numeracy skills, and gives detailed results from Entry 1 to Level 2, and there's also a Basic Skills Screener that gives an overall idea of level (below level 2, below level 1 or below Entry 3). see our embedded learning section for Target Skills at Work (workbooks and CDs for Retail, Hospitality, Construction, Manufacturing, Care and Cleaning.
	Tarsia Formulator is a brilliant free program that creates wonderful matching jigsaws (rectangular, hexagonal, etc - with between 12-24 facts to match), dominoes and follow me cards. Although designed for maths use (built in formula editor etc.) it can be adapted for any topic and allows images to be imported. Thanks to Dave Clapham, Park Lane College for recommending this program. I hope to build up a collection of Tarsia files for all levels in both Literacy and Numeracy. Please download and send in your contributions! New 17/10/07- see Dave's help sheet for creating simplified Tarsia puzzles
	Schoolhouse Technologies - Worksheet Creation Software produce four fantastic worksheet programs. Two are completely free: Basic Facts Worksheet Factory (for simple straight forward maths operations and tables squares) and Word search Factory. The other two are available for 30 free "goes", before purchase at very reasonable fees. Vocabulary Worksheet Factory is ideal for crosswords, word searches, dictionary searches and a host of other tasks. For example "Word Shapes" is great for beginning readers at level E1, and the "Jumbles" games allow many options such as missing out specific letters (such as vowels or consonants) - useful for spelling, and phonics practice at levels E1-E2. Finally our favourite, Math Worksheet Factory V3 is just brilliant - create personalised worksheets for all adult numeracy levels at the touch of a button. All four basic operations, counting, number squares, graphs, angles, shapes, fractions, decimals, percentages, ordering numbers, and dozens more options. Superb value - registration after your trial period is only $25 (or they accept UK cheques). We will be featuring some maths worksheets made with this program on this site soon!

Professional Development for Teachers and Supporters of Adult Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL
General
	Interactive on-line adult literacy literacy tutoring/coaching course has 9 separate web quests (teaching adult reading, adult writing, study skills, numeracy, etc.) where you follow a series of web links to investigate different teaching ideas and strategies. Some of the links appear to be dead but there is much useful background material to be found.
	Life Long Learning UK is the body responsible for the professional development of all those working in work-based learning; higher education; further education; community learning; and libraries, archives and information services. Links to many useful policy documents such as this 70 page PDF booklet: 'Addressing language, literacy and numeracy needs in education and training: Defining the minimum core of teachers’ knowledge, understanding and personal skill. A guide for initial teacher education programmes'.
	The Skills for Life Improvement Program has dozens of online PowerPoint resources for trainers and managers. If you are trying to encourage a 'whole-organisation' approach to SfL and a professional SfL workforce then this is the site for you. Plus lots of info on embedding basic skills. Plus modules and teaching resources for delivering levels 2, 3 and 4 Literacy, numeracy, preEntry and ESOL.
	Skills for Life: Adult Literacy Resources' a talk (and related web site) given by me to PGCE students (post 16) at Oxford Brookes University as part of a 'Basic Skills Theme Day'. The day was designed to meet the FENTO requirements to address Skills for Life during teacher training. Includes: a downloadable PowerPoint (with notes and hand out) on background and history of the Skills for Life strategy, the development of commercial and free literacy resources, and pointers for creating high quality printed resources; an online mystery web hunt (to familiarise students with free online resources) with fill-in worksheet; useful links and much more. Note: web hunt answers can be found by clicking small animated icon at bottom left of the web page or by going to this link.
	Skills for Life Network provides up to the minute information on all areas of Skills for Life development both locally and nationally. Regular newsletters are sent out to members who also have access to useful resources and a knowledgebase. Most resources are simply links to other sites but there are about a dozen downloadable items including a very useful 20 hour spelling course for E2 upwards.
Resources for those studying or delivering the Level 2 Certificate in Adult learner Support
	Literacy Connections has useful information for volunteer tutors (and others) about the terms used in literacy / reading teaching such as guided reading, paired reading, visualisation, etc. Lots of other good stuff too.
	City and Guilds have detailed info on the Level 2 certificate in learner support (now replaced with the new Level 2 Award in Literacy, Language, Numeracy and ICT Awareness) such as the Scheme handbook and interesting examiner's reports on the externally assessed 'Working in the sector' assignment.
	Skills for Life Quality Initiative (see above) has modules for delivery of Literacy 2.1: Developing and achieving good communication skills in support work, and 2.2: Progression to planning and teaching. Numeracy 2.1: Language and numeracy, and 2.2: Dyslexia, dyscalculia and numeracy. ESOL 2.1: Refugee awareness for frontline workers: who are the refugees? and 2.2: Refugee awareness for frontline workers: Skills for Life strategy. PreENTRY: Supporting learners and the Pre-entry curriculum framework, Knowing about your learners, and Identifying and supporting progress and achievement.
	The Link up project was set up to train volunteers in 20 deprived areas. The project has now finished but an excellent CD full of comprehensive teaching resources, session plans, activities, OHTs, fact sheets etc. is still available for free by emailing DfES publications. Details here. Fully covers all three modules: working in sector; supporting learners; and the ESOL, Literacy and numeracy subject areas.
Resources for those studying or delivering the Certificates in Professional Practice (levels 3 and 4)
	North West Skills for Life Professional Development Project has masses of resources for those delivering Level 3 and 4 literacy, ESOL, numeracy and embedded SfL. You need to register before you can access the materials but this is free. Many thanks to Maricristin Sealey (City of Bristol College) for suggesting this link (note - closed over summer -07)
	FENTO_Subject_Specifications for level 3 and 4 certificates in supporting / teaching adult literacy and numeracy now available on the Read Write Plus site as web pages / Word documents.
	Lifelong Learning site replaces the old FENTO site and has all the subject specification at level 3 and 4 plus useful guidance for those delivering these qualifications. Specifications for ESOL also available. If you are interested in becoming a Skills for Life teacher you should read the FAQ.
	Move On is not only an excellent source of practice exams (see below) but also has good Study Skills resources for teachers delivering the Level 3 Literacy/Numeracy Subject Support Certificate. Includes handouts and PowerPoints on study skills and learning styles.
	Skills for Life Quality Initiative (see above) has many many modules (particularly at level 4) for delivery of Literacy, Numeracy. ESOL and PreEntry at levels 3 and 4.
	DfES Standards Site Professional Development section has useful resources. Try this presentation about sentence structure (simple, compound, complex) as a starter.
Level 3 Numeracy
	ACER (Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region) have masses of fantastic L3 numeracy training materials (overview. notes and activities for 23 sessions) and useful information.
Level 4 Numeracy
	ALM (Adults Learning Mathematics) has its newsletter / magazines available online. The June 2005 version has an overview of the new adult numeracy strategy in Ireland. Its journals also now available, the first one (56 page PDF) includes 'A New View of Mathematics Will Help Mathematics Teachers' and 'Growth of Mathematical Understanding in Workplace Training'.
	Literacies is the online magazine of the Movement for Canadian Literacy. The Spring 2005 edition focuses on reflective numeracy practice and has several fascinating articles including Making Math Concrete (and Iron, and Plastic...), Can Numeracy and Technology Work Together? Beyond WorkSheets: Making Math Meaningful, and Working with Student Resistance to Math Tools.
	London Adult Numeracy Professional Development Centre the leading UK organisation for the development and enhancement of numeracy teaching and learning (post 16). Plus some very useful downloadable resources for teaching and Level 4 numeracy training.
	See the Maths4Life site in our DfES section for research in teaching and learning numeracy
	NRDC National Research and Development Centre for adult numeracy and literacy has resources that arose from a 20 month researcher-practitioner project on teaching measures. Web quest, handouts about the history of measurement, fascinating transcripts of interviews with learners about how they use measures, free images of measures and people measuring, scheme of work, worksheets including some great measure questions for discussion (huge 4MB DOC file) and a wonderful 'Do you measure up?' quiz that will defy even the most numerate practitioner!
Level 3 Literacy
	ACER (Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region) have masses of fantastic L3 literacy training materials (overview. tutor notes, handouts and activities for 26 sessions) and useful information.
	Apostrophe protection society not only gives you rules for using apostrophes but also provides dozens of real-life pictures showing examples of misuse. Great for teaching. Thanks to Ruth Wood at Pro-Training, Colwick, Nottingham for recommending this link.
	Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is ideal for reference. Plus useful online tests to check your learning (try the mastery grammar quiz for a challenge). Thanks to Ruth Wood at Pro-Training, Colwick, Nottingham for recommending this link.
	Hypergrammar is an electronic version of the grammar course offered at the University of Ottawa. Recommended by Ruth Wood.
	The Standards Site: Grammatical knowledge for teachers has some very useful step by step activities you can work through to improve your own grammatical knowledge.
	The Tongue Tied Untied (Guide to grammar, punctuation and style) is an online book which includes printable exercises so that you can check your learning as you progress. Thanks to Ruth Wood at Pro-Training, Colwick, Nottingham who recommends this link for the text analysis assignment.
Level 4 Literacy - Module I: Understanding and describing language
	Andrew McIntyre is a lecturer in linguistics at University of Leipzig. He has written several useful papers covering English morphology that I found really helpful when writing my essay. There is also a fascinating particle verb list and much more.
	Ask Oxford (Oxford Dictionaries) is a goldmine of information. Try How spelling got to be so diffcult, and Better writing has great sections on grammar and spelling tips, letter writing and much more.
	Buncha Roots leads to two separate pages, each with immense tables of Greek \ Latin roots - affixes along with definitions and examples.
	Centre for Research in Computational Linguistics (Bangkok) has some interesting papers such as this PDF from Douglas Inglis: Cognitive Grammar and Lexicography.
	Christian Uffmann at University of Siegen has his entire Introduction to Lingusitics course online, including very useful handouts on phonology, syntax, morphology and phonetics.
	13/04/08Dictionary of English Words derived from Latin and Greek Sources is an incredible source of information and a must if you are interested in Greek and Latin roots and affixes. Too much to summarise here - you must explore it for yourself!
	Encyclopaedia of Linguistics has only a few entries available online but one happens to be a good article about function words.
	Fun with Words has lists of heteronyms (in the UK we call them Fun With Words: Heteronyms), contronyms (e.g. clip - to fasten, to detach), negative words with no positives (e.g. inept, gormless, dismayed, ungainly) and many more.
	George Boeree has some great language pages: English phonemic spelling, introduction to morphology and much more.
	Greek and Latin roots is one of a series of useful reference pages from a tutor at Michigan State Uni. Also covers vocabulary, homonyms, easily confused words, etc.
	IPA (international phonetic alphabet) fonts (serif, sans serif and fixed width) available for free download from University College London Dept of Phonetics and Linguistics. (I used the Sophia font when preparing a presentation about a phonemic text analysis).
	Julia Hirschberg (Columbia State Uni) is a specialist in computational linguistics. Two of her course outlines are available online, along with a host of resources such as this great PowerPoint (under her 'courses' information) on Lexical Semantics (rather technical towards the end, but includes useful slides on polysemy, homophones, homographs and ambiguity).
	Language museum has fascinating word lists. I frequently use homographs (words that are spelt the same but pronounced differently) as reference when teaching. Homophones, function words and minimal pairs (words whose pronunciation differs at only one segment, such as sheep - ship or lice - rice) also feature. Note: site takes ages to load - be patient!
	Steve Bett has a huge Linguistics site, although parts (such as the home page) seem to be missing. I have used the Dewey Spelling Frequency page (fascinating), Origins of the Alphabet and this discussion about the number of phonemes in the English Language.
	Macmillan English Dictionary has lots of useful and fascinating information such as this list of the 40 most popular new words of 2005. Also check out their classroom tips for improving dictionary skills, glossary of dictionary terms (there's also a texting glossary) and the wonderful 'Don't forget your vest and pants' about differences between British and American English.
	More Words is great for solving crosswords and other word games (use * for any number of missing letters, a hyphen for one missing letter). It is also very useful if yo uare looking for words that follow particular spelling or phonics patterns.
	08/05/08Phonics on the web covers all basic (analytic) phonics rules and is a useful reference source. Covers blends, digraphs, syllable rules, and much more - also spelling rules such as plurals and compound words
	13/04/08The Phrontistery is a fascinating site specialising in lost, forgotten and rare words. Plus interesting essays, etymology pages, lists of numerical prefixes, 2 and 3 letter Scrabble words. A huge selection of 'glossaries' include 269 words for different fabrics, 168 rare colour terms, measurements, phobias and much much more!
	RhymeZone dictionary and thesaurus is great for preparing phonics, spelling and vocabulary worksheets or lists. Type in a any word and receive a list of synonyms, antonyms, rhyming words, words with matching consonants, homophones, etc. There's also a 'Reverse Dictionary' where you can type a definition and get a word! You can even search for 'kid-safe' pictures!
	Strictly British is a site for US Harry Potter readers who might not know the meaning of words such as: barmy, comprehensive school, codswallop, toerag, nosh and nicking (hundreds are listed) but it also provides a fascinating insight into British vocabulary.
	Take our Word for It (from the Institute for Etymological Research and Education) is a no nonsense friendly yet informative etymology site, updated bi-weekly. The 'Theory' page has a great overview of Etymology and where words come from. Also check out the archive and the lists of roots and prefixes.
	The Trouble with English Orthography plus discussion about alternatives! Good reading.
	THRASS UK (Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling Skills) have just released an excellent new version (4) of their THRASS Phoneme Machine. Now available for free download from a new dedicated site at http://www.phonememachine.com/. The programme uses moving human lips and the International Phonetic Alphabet to teach learners of all ages and abilities to read and spell in English. It is also very useful for students of linguistics, phonics, etc.
	UCL (University College London) has a prestigious Department of Linguistics and Phonetics with many resources, fonts and web tutorials. For example, take a look at their archived English pronunciation tips of the day (with audio).
	University of Oregon Yamada Language Centre more phonetic fonts inc. fonts for Macs.
	Word Detective fascinating background and histories for hundreds of words and terms. Huge archive.
	Word Play is a wonderful hot pot of information about words. If you ever wondered about the origin of the prefix - para you must read this fascinating para-ble! Other gems include un-rhyming words, triple-quadruple homonyms, contranyms (Janus words) and much more. Addictive!
	Word Sources has masses of info on Greek and Latin word origins. Latin-Greek-English Cross Reference Search - type in any word to receive a list of related roots and affixes
	World Wide Words is amazing site about 'International English from a British Point of View'. Histories of words and phrases, weird words and topical words. Warning! You could spend hours on this site.
	Writing for business and pleasure has some fascinating background information on spelling compound words. Numerous other columns include: apostrophes, 5 elements of style, email dos and don'ts, thank you letters.
Level 4 Literacy - Module II: Professional teaching practice
	Carl's Corner already has a big mention on our printable worksheet links but must also be put here because of its wonderful - but sometimes difficult to find - teaching ideas. Don't let the teddy bears put you off many ideas are great for adults too. Visit Teacher trail, or Spell Space to find Spell Well PDF with 22 pages of ideas. Literacy Lane and Writers Way have masses of good stuff including comprehension aides, writing frames and graphic organisers. Struggler Street for masses of ideas and readings tips - how to help with reversals, comprehension, inference, word attack skills and much more.
	The Chalkface Project is a large provider of materials to UK secondary schools and colleges. One of their free samples (click on Basic Literacy Skills for 16+), which they will email you a link for, is a useful 12 page document that includes teaching tips, Dolch sight words and more. Many other samples are available for spelling, writing, etc.
	The original Dolch list of 220 high frequency words compiled in 1936, plus links to later versions and adaptations.
	Dr B's lessons and resources has a great scaffolding resource for writing a five paragraph essay. Suitable for Level 2 students
	The Five Paragraph Essay is a complete site about planning and writing with separate sections covering the distinct formats of expository, narrative and persuasive essays.
	08/05/08Halton Borough Council has some really well designed, highly structured writing frames (although how I originally found them from the home page is now beyond me!) - inc. reports, explanations, stories and discussion - plus guidance notes on teaching a new text-type.
	LITE (Literacy, Information and technology in Education) has some good background info on teaching reading and comprehension strategies.
	Literacy Matters has a good page of info (and further links) on text structure (Genre theory).
	Irish National Adult Literacy Agency have an excellent free writing and design booklet (PDF) to help make your documents more accessible. Notes on good layout, fonts, signposting, plain English, active voice and much more. For details of the many downloadable student resources from this site refer to the entry on our printable resources page.
	Mrs McGowan's class page has very useful reference list of words listed in groups such as consonant blends, short vowels, long vowels. Great for teaching Entry 1 and 2 phonics.
	NIACE National Institute of Adult Continuing Education has a great series of resources for teaching writing from the 'Write where you are' campaign. Try the Pass it on (PDF) under Tasters for ideas on creating a shared text (E2-L2) and the sentence game PDF under Starting Points.
	Phonics and the Whole Word / Language Controversies 1948-1998 interesting paper on the phonics versus whole word recognition argument, from Jennifer Monaghan
	Springfield public school district has a very good writing workshop that includes an expository writing genre study in 15 lessons (narratives and persuasive writing also covered). The reading workshop has excellent coverage of comprehension strategies inc inference and explains the difference between shared and guided reading.
	Teacher's Toolbox is mostly pages of links but (if you can ignore the awful, distracting background) has a very useful list of 20+ reading strategies - each one leading to a more detailed explanation. These include SQ3R, cloze procedures, open minded portraits, readers' theatre, directed listening activities and many more.
	Somers Central School District has some fantastic reading resources and ideas. The strategic reading area has a section on text structure where each type is accompanied by a suitable downloadable graphic organiser (writing frame / flow chart / bubbles)
	Types of writing in the information age (Hong Kong University) has a great set of genre - purpose of text resources that were developed as the result of a research project. the resources aim to teach students how to distinguish between different types of writing (genres) including digital forms such as email and ICQ instant messaging. There are 8 great example texts (email, lCQ text message, diary, story, etc.) with three related resources ranging from simple matching (E2 upwards ) through to rewriting and discussion. There are also very useful accompanying teaching notes for each text - reminding teachers of the key features of each genre.
	Utah Students at Risk has many online resources including several high frequency and 'sight' word lists including Dolch lists and Fry's list of some fantastic reading resources and ideas. The strategic reading area has a section on text structure where each type is accompanied by a suitable downloadable graphic organiser (writing frame / flow chart / bubbles)
	Virtual Salt is a fascinating site from Robert Harris, a retired English professor. There are masses of teaching ideas such as these Recommendations for writing comments on student papers. Useful reference page about roots and prefixes along with many more pages including punctuation, conjunctions, short stories, plagiarism and critical thinking.
	08/05/08David Wray is Professor of Literacy Education at Warwick University. His site contains many interesting links and some useful writing frames for E3-L2.
Level 4 Literacy - Module III: Language in a Social Context
NEW LITERACY STUDIES and LITERACY AS A SOCIAL PRACTICE
	David Barton's paper (PDF) A social practice view of language, literacy and numeracy makes interesting reading and provides useful background material for the Module 3 Essay.
	Changing Faces of Adult literacy, Numeracy and ESOL: a critical history of policy and practice 1970 - 2000. The site is not yet complete but if you want an overview of ABE in the last 6 decades take a look at the fantastic timelines.
	Literacies is the online magazine of the Movement for Canadian Literacy. If you have difficulty understanding exactly what is meant by New Literacy Studies read The New Literacy Studies (Guy Ewing) from the Spring 2003 edition (also available as a very readable pdf newsletter).
	Current Issues in Comparative Education is an online journal from Columbia university. Volume 5 no 2 May 2003 (Literacy, Education, and Development) includes an excellent article from Brian Street (King's College London) What's "new" in New Literacy Studies (PDF). NEW There is also an interesting response / critique (PDF) to this article (Joyce Kim)which discusses limitations of NLS, such as transferability to pedagogical practice and a lack of concrete suggestions for classroom practitioners.
	Dept Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University is currently participating in research into literacy practices particularly adult literacy). Working papers are available on line including this PDF: Moral Panics about Literacy by David Barton 2000 (very useful for the Module 3 essay!)
	Powerful Literacies is a fascinating and very readable book (also available from Amazon). Invaluable for Module 3 essay.
	RaPAL (Research and Practice in Adult Literacy) produce a bulletin three times a year. Well worth the subscription fee and an excellent source of research, critiques and practical ideas. If you believe that literacy is more than a set of narrow skills (and don't think that the Adult Literacy Curriculum is the 'be all and end all' of literacy teaching) then this is the journal for you.
	Communities in Scotland for the latest news in adult literacy and numeracy, and community learning and development in Scotland. Development and training, pathfinder projects, learners zone, plus links to research and useful resources. Take a look at the new Adult Literacy and Numeracy Framework for Scotland (PDF) which, unlike its English counterpart, is based on a social practices /literacy in the community model.
RESEARCH - VARIOUS (see also our Research and Development section below)
	ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Adult Basic Education Seminar Series provides a fascinating set of papers, notes and reflections from a series of six seminars held between 2002 and 2004. Seminar 1 (Adult Basic Education as a Social Practice) is of particular interest and was a great help to me when writing my module 3 essay!
	Centre for Literacy (University of Quebec) has an annotated bibliography Adult Basic Education: Impact of Policy on Practice (2004) with useful summaries of core readings such as Adult Literacy, Learning Disabilities and Technology, Adult literacy and Television, Seniors and Literacy, and Math for learning; math for life.
	NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education - England and Wales) has many useful

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT	RESOURCES	POLICY AND INFORMATION
General (all levels)	Good books	Agencies, DIUS sites 22/06/08
Level 2 Learner Support	Embedded learning 22/06/08	Exams (inc. practice papers) and standards 05/07/08
General (levels 3 and 4)	Hands-on resources	Research
Level 3 Literacy	Good software	LEARNING AND TEACHING
Level 3 Numeracy	College & community resource sites	Learning disabilities - difficulties
Level 4 Literacy	KEY:star site new site	Learning styles and teaching
Level 4 Numeracy	More resources on our other links pages: Printable Resources and Embedding ILT	Study support
Level 2, 3, 4 ESOL		Using assistive Software

Literacy Connections has useful information for volunteer tutors (and others) about the terms used in literacy / reading teaching such as guided reading, paired reading, visualisation, etc. Lots of other good stuff too.