Contextual Resources

Part of the Living in the UK series.

This resource covers the difficult but very real issue of domestic abuse. The information is provided sensitively and includes information and questions about Clare's Law, and an invented but realistic situation. 

Discretion is advised but it is an important and often sidestepped safeguarding issue. Whilst there is a plethora of information, I found not all of it was suitable nor accessible enough for meeting the needs of my learners. 

A look at some of the most annoying pests that invade our homes. This article looks at fruit flies and gnats. With reading and SPaG questions, plus two differentiated writing tasks. Suggested range is higher E3 to L1.

This is a large multi-page resource (12 pages, plus a shorter document with 2 sets of matching cards and a self-assessment checklist). Aimed at L1-L2 Functional English but also useful for GCSE. 

The main document includes:

Quite a large resource that looks at the legal age e.g. marriage, leaving school, voting, etc. in the UK. It is suitable for ESOL, FE and other English related courses.

Reading comprehension, discussion, writing and more with texts aimed at E1-L2.  Pick and choose those that suit your needs best. 

Editor's notes

A higher-level narrative that complements City Girl (see links under See Also). This text features Jane/Janiyah, rather than Emily, after she moves to the countryside. 

My suggested Functional Skills English level is L1-L2 (for ESOL - Higher L1-L2). Some questions may be tricky for the lower end of the scale. There are three sections: reading, SPaG and writing. I have included suggested marks for the first two sections but no answer key.

Inspired by an article I recently read about a local Oxford wassail, this reading resource covers most aspects of the L1 and L2 reading content (does not cover bias, fact & opinion, or following an argument). Questions are grouped under topics such as reading for detail, language, vocabulary, punctuation, etc. so you can pick and choose to suit your learner group.

I hope to write a similar Entry Level resource but it'll be too late for this year's wassailing season! 

Themed around two different Burns Night dinner menus, the main focus is money and problem solving. 

In addition, the E3-L1 section covers percentages and rounding, and the E1-E3 section includes questions on time, sorting and classifying, and extracting data. 

Includes extra alcohol-free menus (no whisky or tipsy laird!), curriculum mapping and suggested marks. 

A set of activities based on the Ask for Angela scheme, an important initiative set up with the aim of keeping people in social situations safe. 

The tasks include reading comprehension, SPaG and writing tasks, along with research and discussion opportunities. Planning should be encouraged as part of the writing tasks. There's also a separate task on organisational and presentational features using two Ask for Angela posters.

A 10 minute rhyming script of Charles Dickens' novel 'A Christmas Carol'. Ideal for use as an end of term activity.

It can also be used as a discussion starter and as a topic for further writing. Suitable for groups of mixed levels from Entry 2 to Level 2 and beyond.

Editor's notes

Another clever and funny rhyming (play)script from Jean. Can be used on so many levels and for so many different learning objectives - in addition to being good fun! 

This is an adapted version of Colleen Kelly's very useful Understanding the UK. I've made a few changes and shortened the text, as this is how I would like to use it with my particular class. I think the first part of Colleen's text provides some really good models of language for describing countries which I want my class to use and adapt to describe other countries as well as learning a little bit about the UK.