Reading paper for L2 on The Cost of Living Crisis. Current topic and uses L2 reading exam paper format from Edexcel, Pearson.
Editor's notes
Another fabulous and very relevant practice exam from Steph! Written Edexcel-style but very useful practice or revision for any awarding organisation. The mark sheet (also in Edexcel style) will be available shortly (for resource contributors only). Please visit Answer sheets for more information and to check when it is available.
Level
Level 2
English
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L2.13 Identify implicit & inferred meaning in texts
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias
FE L2.18 Follow an argument, identifying different points of view & distinguishing fact from opinion
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
FE L2.12 Compare information, ideas & opinions in different texts, inc. how they are conveyed
8 May 2023 7pm improvements to page 4 extension question (upside down tear-off hints, scaffolding, etc.) and other minor adjustments).
he first in a new series of Cost of Living resources. Use research on the increasing costs of homemade sandwiches to calculate original costs from the previous year. Plus a challenging extension question about misleading statistics in a related newspaper article.
Level
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM L2.6 Calculate percentage change (any size increase & decrease), & original value after % change
This exercise can be used in several different ways. The cost of living crisis has hit everyone and this one pot pasta dish can save on gas/electric by making everything in one pan. The main idea is to cost the ingredients as it is, but then think of alternatives to the original recipe. Then if you double the recipe up, how much are you saving by buying 500g of mince? How much are you saving by buying a 4 pack tin of tomatoes? Look at the different prices of dried pasta. Look at how much frozen mince is. This is about converting g - kg too. It uses dividing and multiplying.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Simple one step problem(s)
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM E3.10 Calculate with money using decimal notation & express money correctly in writing in pounds and pence
FM E3.16 Compare measures of weight including grams & kilograms
FM L1.4 Use multiplication facts and make connections with division facts
FM L1.11 Add, subtract, multiply & divide decimals up to 2 decimal places
FM L1.12 Approximate by rounding to a whole number or to one or two decimal places
FM L1.17 Work with simple ratio & direct proportions
FM L1.20 Convert between units of length, weight, capacity, money and time, in the same system
FM L2.13 Calculate amounts of money, compound interest, percentage increases, decreases & discounts inc. tax & budgeting
An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary, etc.) of the popular Using Formulae v2 written by Gordon Noblett in 2007. Useful, realistic practice – questions cover mobiles, cooking, printing photos, plumbing rates, etc. Each multi-part question is cleverly staggered so that learners build up a set of answers and then find a 'rule'. Includes 'formulae expressed in words' so some questions also suitable for Level 1 (in addition to Level 2).
Editor's notes
Level
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM L1.5 Use simple formulae expressed in words for one or two-step operations
FM L2.3 Evaluate expressions & make substitutions in given formulae in words & symbols
An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary, curriculum details, etc.) of the popular Using Formulae written by Jean Thomas in 2006. Covers substituting into formulae, percentages and working with large numbers.
Editor's notes
Level
Level 2
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM L2.2 Carry out calculations with numbers up to 1 million inc. strategies to check answers e.g. estimation & approximation
FM L2.3 Evaluate expressions & make substitutions in given formulae in words & symbols
FM L2.5 Work out percentages of amounts & express one amount as a percentage of another
FM L2.12 Follow the order of precedence of operators, including indices
An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary and minimum wage details, etc.) of the popular Stash the Cash written by Andy Morrell in 2010. In addition to currency changes this version also includes an extra version of the calculations table and other changes. For example, the table on page 3 has extra columns to make the mathematical operations explicit and to allow students to practise writing mathematical “sentences”.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM E3.8 Read, write & use decimals up to two decimal places
FM L1.2 Recognise and use positive and negative numbers
FM L1.11 Add, subtract, multiply & divide decimals up to 2 decimal places
FM L2.1 Read, write, order & compare positive & negative numbers of any size
FM E3.10 Calculate with money using decimal notation & express money correctly in writing in pounds and pence
FM E3.21 Extract information from lists, tables, diagrams, charts; create frequency tables
FM E3.23 Organise & represent information in appropriate ways inc. tables, diagrams, simple line graphs & bar charts
FM L1.29 Find the mean & range of a set of quantities
FM L2.23 Calculate the median & mode of a set of quantities
Two pages of extra questions for our very popular "John's Crazy Socks" resource by Eleanor Kliffen (Jan 2018). Ideal for homework or stretch & challenge. Questions are mixed levels with a focus on *parts of speech, punctuation and grammar (tense). Language features are also touched upon.
Editor's note
Although parts of speech are not specifically covered in the FS Content descriptors, a basic knowledge of nouns, verbs and subjects can be very useful when teaching sentence structure.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
English
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
FE E3.15 Use mostly correct grammar e.g. subject-verb agreement, consistent use of tense, definite & indefinite articles
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
Why might we start our own business and how confident are we as a nation? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about their career choices (in this case, running their own business) while building their English skills.
Editor's note
Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics
FE L2.5 Communicate information/ideas/opinions clearly/effectively with further detail/development if required
FE L1.6 Follow / understand discussions & make contributions relevant to situation & subject
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
This is a Level 2 based Currency Conversion set of 4 questions with resource sheets and answers. All exchange rates resources were obtained from web sites such as The Post Office and the Bank of England.
Editor's note
Also provides useful practice in multiply, dividing with decimals (up to 4 decimal places); sensible rounding of answers; and extracting data from tables.
Level
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM L2.13 Calculate amounts of money, compound interest, percentage increases, decreases & discounts inc. tax & budgeting
FM L2.14 Convert between metric & imperial units of length, weight & capacity using a) a conversion factor & b) a conversion graph
FM L2.10 Add, subtract, multiply & divide decimals up to 3 decimal places
This is a project based on Benford's law. I had this idea after watching the Numberphile series on YouTube. This is a project based activity that involves many skills including working with large numbers, using percentages, representing data and probability.
The investigation is introduced to learners using the PPT (and optional YouTube links). Learners then split into four groups - each is given a random set of share prices [see Excel file]. Each group investigates the occurrence of numbers starting with each digit from 1 to 9.
Editor's note
Level
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM L1.1 Read, write, order & compare large numbers (up to one million)
FM L1.14 Calculate percentages of quantities, inc. simple percentage increase / decrease by 5% & multiples of
FM L1.15 Estimate answers to calculations using fractions and decimals
FM L1.27 Represent discrete data in tables, diagrams & charts inc. pie charts, bar charts, line graphs
FM L1.28 Group discrete data & represent grouped data graphically
FM L1.30 Understand probabilities on a scale from 0 to 1; use to compare the likelihood of events
FM L1.31 Use equally likely outcomes to find probabilities of simple events & express as fractions