Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

A short poem on the theme of food.  Can be used as a reading and pronunciation exercise or may be extended to include a discussion around food production and carbon footprint or the ethics of food choices. Could also be used as a basis for written work.

Editor's notes

I love this because it works on so many different levels!

Written specifically for the new reformed English content which expects secure homophone skills at much lower levels than previously. Covers 6 of the 22 homophone spellings required at E3 using differentiated sets of cloze exercises. 7 sets each with 15 questions / sentences plus detailed teaching notes and an appendix listing all E1, E2 & E3 spellings.

Written specifically for the new reformed English content which expects secure homophone skills at much lower levels than previously. Covers all the homophone spellings required at E2 using differentiated sets of cloze exercises. 7 sets each with 15 questions / sentences plus detailed teaching notes and an appendix listing all E1 & E2 spellings.

A list of simple sentences, some of which are common sayings. They all contain a word which has more than one meaning. The list can be used to improve vocabulary, and also to show students the importance of context in understanding the meaning of a word. Could be used as a warm-up for a reading lesson.

Suitable for guided reading with Entry level learners in the run up to Christmas, this version of Dickens’s classic Christmas story (first published in 1843 and never out of print since) has been created using content downloaded from https://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/literature/christmas-carol on 26th October 2016 and only slightly adapted for use as a paper resource.

A text based around Ramadan to practise E3 -L1 English reading in detail / skimming & scanning for information.
There is also a related form filling exercise (E2-E3), dictionary work, and a discussion prompt (all levels)

The letter-writing task focuses on charity, so it could also tie in to employability qualifications if you are teaching community project modules or similar.

Editor’s note
With answers and curriculum mapping

Comprehension based on a Red Nose Day order form for schools. Two comprehensions – one L1/L2, one E3. Also some embedded maths and the E3 version includes form filling. I recommend introducing the form with a discussion about features of text and layout.

Editor's note (13/2/22)
The PDF form is no longer available from the Red Nose Day website but you can download it from the link below.

This resource helps learners hear rhymes and recognise corresponding letters/digraphs, rimes and onsets etc. Take simple limericks and poems and get your learners to put them together.

I created my own limericks to match work we had been doing on long vowel sounds (it is not that difficult to do once you get started). Well-known poems and nursery rhymes also proved particularly popular as many knew them already by heart from childhood and some were doing them now with their children.

A set of exercises based around an article from the BBC News website during the adverse weather of 2010.
There are multiple choice comprehension questions, together with exercises on apostrophes, vocabulary and synonyms and anagrams. The learner is then asked to write his/her views.

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.