AL Ww/L1.1 Spell & use spelling strategies

A warm up or round up exercise to get Functional Skills students interested in spelling! A lot of my students are interested in tattoos (this is one of the few jobs where the fact that I am covered in them is actually a good thing!) and this had led to a lot of discussion.

I often talk through the importance of considering their designs before getting them done and this ties in nicely. It could be used as part of a session on tattoos, for example discussions and writing a letter to a friend to tell them about the pros and cons of getting a tattoo.

A clever grammar/vocabulary/spelling task that combines a cloze exercise with homophone practice. The text is about the Victorian era and is particularly suitable for students with an interest in history.

This resource was created for Adult Literacy Entry 3 Learners. It includes reading comprehension and related exercises covering many curriculum areas, based on the Halloween theme.

A succinct, beautifully clear and very useful one page handout and accompanying PPT. All the old favourites plus some that you might not be aware of. Includes suffixes, plurals, ible/able, etc.
The PPT could easily be contextualised to include words for specific vocational areas.

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.

A 12 piece follow me game where homophones must be matched to the correct sentence. A good mix of common and more unusual homophones such as preys/praise/prays and there/their/they’re. First used in a Motor Vehicles Functional English group but suitable for any L1-2 English / literacy group.

Guaranteed to create promote discussion as learners play the game (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).

Beautiful set of resources for embedding spelling and vocabulary. Written for NVQ social care students but could also be useful in other vocational areas such as sport. A range of spelling and vocabulary activities on the topic of organs of the body.
Word and picture matching cards
Student reference sheet
Function matching cards
Look Say Cover Write Check spelling sheets (one for E2-E3, one for L1-2)
Fill in sheets

Can you find all the incorrect homophones in the Bury Tots Daycare poster?
Two versions available.
1) Select the correct homophone from a choice of two or three (E3 spelling)
2) Find the incorrect homophones (no help!). Level 1 spelling and proof reading
Ideal for embedding literacy and Functional English in Early Years courses

Very useful handout with plenty of tips and background information on spelling words ending in “shun”. E.g. – tion, – sion and -cian.
Followed by a cloze exercise / worksheet where learners have to add the correct suffix to root words.

Level 1 reading comprehension, spelling and vocabulary tasks based on an Australian local news article about a successful youth art project in Deception Bay. The tasks can be concluded nicely with a related crossword puzzle – ideal for individual work or for group work if displayed on an IWB.