Contextual Resources

Read an exemplar answer to a writing question about Disappearing High Streets. Then plan and write your own article. Choice of two writing tasks (for Level 1-2 Functional Skills English). 

• Gambling and the National Lottery 
• How to get children off their computers and more active 

Editor's notes

This is just what other Functional English teachers need: I think it’s so important for learners to have realistic exemplar/model pieces of writing so they know what they’re aiming for. Also useful for ESOL.

Pancake Day in Exdale is a multi-level graduated Functional Maths workbook for Entry Level 1 to Level 2. A front page overview allows the teacher or learner to decide which levels and topics to work on. All questions are based on one or other of two texts (pancake meals at the local pub and special offers in the Exdale Cook Shop). The emphasis throughout is on problem solving and showing working out.

At Entry Levels the main coverage is time, dates and money. Levels 1 and 2 include questions on time, converting between measures, circumference, percentage discount and mean.

NEW 24/2/22  answer sheet now also  available - visit our ANSWER SHEETS page for more information.

A follow-on Valentine's Day resource from the E1-E3 worksheet of the same name. It continues the general problem solving of finding suitable meal deals for various couples and calculating how much they save by purchasing a Valentine's meal deal. For L2 learners it also delves into compound measures with challenging multiple questions on on unit prices (e.g. £/kg, £/litre).

Does the UK have a Food Waste problem and how is this impacting our environment? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about the environment and the impact of food-waste while building their English skills.

Editor's note

Letter writing task to be used after a letter writing layout and paragraphing session has been taught, to assess understanding and readiness for a writing exam. This task is aimed at students undertaking Construction/Customer Service related courses alongside Functional Skills.

Editor's notes

Ideal exam practice for all L1-2 learners but particularly those in construction. For a more scaffolded approach use with a formal letter template (look under See also for examples).

Speaking and listening, reading and writing  activities focusing on one of the possible Edexcel FS English exam contexts.  

Editor's note

With useful key vocabulary tables. The reading focus is purpose, tone and language features. The final task is to write an article about buying a new car. 

My class of adult learners were struggling to associate fractions with real world scenarios so I created this worksheet based on honest situations.
The questions are diverse in difficulty from Entry level 2 to Level 2 making it a good worksheet as a starter or revision.
Editor’s note
With curriculum mapping and answers

Based on two recent articles / surveys on Black Friday shopping, the main focus of this resource is Functional Mathematics but there is also an introductory page of English questions that check vocabulary, purpose of text and the ability to extract meaning from graphical material and captions.

This is followed by three pages of challenging differentiated questions for E3-L2 Functional Maths – all are based on the infographics within the text. Topics include large numbers, percentages, fractions and the four operations.

The main resource has four pages. Three of the pages contain a chart and a brief to a group of students to discuss and write some sentences saying what the chart tells them. The twist is that each group of 3 students has a different chart drawn from the same data as the groups next to them. The fourth page has the table from which the charts were drawn.

The charts used are: dual/clustered bar chart comparing types of drink sold on two days. A stacked/composite bar chart and a percentage bar chart of the same data.

Hands-on extension tasks for various Skillsworkshop cocktail and smoothie resources. (Original resources can be found under “see also” below).