Contextual Resources

A worksheet designed for motor vehicle students studying Functional Skills level 1/2. A spreadsheet activity encouraging them to look up on the internet cost of essential tools they need and then display this in an Excel Spreadsheet. Can be adapted to other industries.

Covers:

• formula
• average
• formatting
• % discount
• adding charts

Covers all reformed Functional Skills  content descriptors relating to position and direction (from E1 to L1). Written with mixed-level classes in mind. Positional vocabulary; cardinal and intercardinal compass points; turns (e.g. quarter turns) and bearings are all covered in this set of graduated HS2 (high speed railway) themed problems. Problems are interspersed with context-free underpinning questions, examples and tips.

A topical resource that requires students to interpret a news infographic and calculate the difference between two times. There is also a second question for Level 2 learners on Speed, Distance, Time. As well as enabling students to practise time calculations it can lead to discussion about this controversial rail project.

Editor's notes

Really topical and interesting. With curriculum mapping. No answer sheet.

Delightful reading and writing tasks based on a very short text originally written for a motorbike-loving learner who had difficulties decoding and distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds. Includes comprehension questions and spelling / punctuation tasks. Fully mapped to the reformed Entry 1 Functional English content. This includes detailed phonic breakdown of the reading text.

This resource is based on the DfES ESOL Skills for Life recording 'Buying a ticket'. It gives exam practice questions (C&G style) in the first section and in the second section an activity to enable learners to tune in to the sounds of English. The first section can be completed in class and the second at home or the whole sheet can be given for homework. Listening development at home enables learners to listen as often as they wish and tune in until they hear the text more clearly.

Functional skills maths.
Extract information from mileage and distance (network) diagrams. Complete a mileage chart.
Editor’s note
With worked solutions, pop up help and a final challenge question.
Ideal as an introduction or for revision.

A set of Formula 1 scenarios based on the four rules of mathematics and using formulae expressed in words and/or numbers. This resource tests students’ ability to use formulae to solve problems based on a motor racing car travelling on a race track. Some of the scenarios test the students ability to convert units to get a sensible answer. I encourage my students to estimate the answers before attempting for real! Some do, some don’t …

A short, contextual news article with associated comprehension and two writing tasks (a Facebook message and a formal letter).

Editor’s note
With answers and detailed curriculum mapping.

A short reading comprehension and writing task based on a section of the Highway Code for motorcyclists.

A reading comprehension activity, based on an extract from a Guardian article on the value of smart meters. Questions cover the following skills: reading for gist, skimming, scanning, identifying the use of a pronoun, vocabulary matching and inferring. Suitable for Entry 3 – Level 1. Could also be used as a starter activity at Level 2, prior to using the full text of the article for other activities.