Warm-up

Makes a great group starter activity. Focuses on a topical pie chart but also covers large numbers, rounding and percentages.

Quick matching activity (makes a good starter and would also work well displayed on large screen).

Easter biscuits whole group quick starter activity on resizing a recipe. Two versions available: one is simplified for ESOL learners or those with lower literacy levels.

Two different multi-sensory activities – both make ideal starters.
1) pin-up sentence sorting (choice of generic, IT or beauty cards)
2) apostrophe dominoes.

27 pictures of different jobs and matching word cards – plus lots of teaching ideas for Entry 1 and 2 literacy and ESOL classes.

Major update June 2021 written for the Adult Literacy Core Curriculum but updated to reflect the Reformed Functional Skills English content. This PPT makes an ideal starter for an Entry Level session on adjectives and is designed to be intertwined with Emma Scotland’s worksheet of the same name (listed under See Also). Seamlessly moves from group work to paired work to individual work. Also provides useful Entry Level 1 reading practice (simple sentences).

Editor’s notes

Purpose and audience task sheets provide a good ice breaker for mixed ability and family literacy groups and make for easy differentiation as learners choose their own texts to work with.

These sheets make great starter activities – especially when used in pairs or small groups. One for qu- words, one for -all words and a blank ‘wall’ to add your own spelling challenge.

THOAN (think of a number) makes a great starter and can be adapted for all levels.

A topical starter activity for mixed ability groups (E2 – L2). Suitable for classes on or around bonfire night, Chinese New Year and New Year’s Eve. Covers time, problem solving and more.