Free Functional Skills and Skills for Life resources
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Good books, magazines & newspapers
Links to books, magazines and newspapers (paper based and electronic) suitable for teaching and supporting maths, English and ESOL from pre-Entry to Level 2.
A new series of comprehensive Functional Skills Maths books now available from talented mathematician and teacher Marsida Horeshka who you may already know from her popular Functional Skills maths site https://marscademy.com/(previously known as Maths Made Fun). The three Entry Level books are now available on Amazon (and soon from other booksellers).
Functional Skills text books are a rare commodity and this pair of Level 2 Functional English books fills a well-needed gap. They’ve been written with the Edexcel on-screen reading and writing assessments in mind, but are ideal for learners taking paper-based or online Functional Skills assessments from any awarding body.
Their Functional Maths and English titles are well worth a look. At long last a publisher is providing an affordable yet high quality option for tutors and students.
Six titles are available: E3, L1 & L2 for both subjects.
We have published a new book: Punctuation..? which is available from Central Books, Waterstones and Amazon. It can also be ordered from your local bookshop.
Use with caution as first News is a children’s newspaper
However for lower level Literacy I like both the simpler content of the text ( but without being patronising) & some of the quirky stories.
I have used stories on the world’s biggest chocolate bar (complete with video clip), pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, a lost bracelet being found after 66 years & the 99p shop chain being up for sale.
Editor's note
You can find Emma's resource, based on the 99p shop story, here.
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 the first one I read: Crazy English, which I bought in a junk shop when I lived in the US many years ago (followed closely by The Write Way and The Play of Words – all available from Amazon.co.uk).
Quick Reads are a series of short (max 120 pages) reads from popular authors and/or celebrities. The latest 2010 titles include a Doctor Who story, and titles from Andy McNab and Rolf Harris.
The old Quick Read resources designed to accompany various titles (along with a new writing guide to accompany this year’s books) are now available on the Reading Agency site. Ten new Quick Reads for 2011 will be released on World Book Day 3rd March.
The NEC has 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.
