Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

A 12 piece follow me game where homophones must be matched to the correct sentence. A good mix of common and more unusual homophones such as preys/praise/prays and there/their/they’re. First used in a Motor Vehicles Functional English group but suitable for any L1-2 English / literacy group.

Guaranteed to create promote discussion as learners play the game (best laminated). As usual with Tarsia puzzles, you can choose to print a standard or large puzzle (select Output – large, i.e. 3 pieces per A4 sheet).

Embedded literacy and Functional English for animal lovers! Also ideal for ESOL.
A beautiful set of three resources.

• Birds of prey technical vocabulary PPT (with link to a video) L1-L2
• Birds of prey gap fill (subject-verb agreement) E3-L1
• British Birds of prey reading comprehension L2 (also great for ESOL leaerners who will also learn some geography about the major British hill areas)

For more of Kathy’s British animal resources go to ‘see also’ below.

Beautiful set of resources for embedding spelling and vocabulary. Written for NVQ social care students but could also be useful in other vocational areas such as sport. A range of spelling and vocabulary activities on the topic of organs of the body.
Word and picture matching cards
Student reference sheet
Function matching cards
Look Say Cover Write Check spelling sheets (one for E2-E3, one for L1-2)
Fill in sheets

Set of 12 sentences to complete. The 12 missing words are 6 pairs of synonyms such as sorry / apologise, need / require, etc. Makes a good starting point for further discussion and/or further speaking and written work.

Correct structure and punctuation is a key feature of Functional English writing and these two sets of matching cards make a good introduction to the topic and will also prompt discussion.
The first set focuses on conjunctions (in compound and complex sentences) and each sentence is split into three (two clause, one conjunction). They can be matched back together in various combinations. (10 sentences)
The second set focuses on a variety of structures and each sentence is split into two. (12 sentences)

I first used this was used as practice for the written and spoken part of Functional Skills exams.

Learners need to begin by discussing TV shows and hopefully someone will mention Big Brother. Then they have to write about 150 words about what sort of housemate they would be in the house.

Next they have to read through the 20 housemate descriptions and choose 10 of them to join them. This needs to be a team decision.

[img_assist|nid=4771|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=69]Another great set of three comprehension resources from Australia. Each with a related, differentiated crossword puzzle. All based on the same Australian news article about the danger of swooping magpies.
The Satellite (Australia) September 13 2010
http://www.thesatellite.com.au/story/2010/09/13/steer-clear-of-swooping…

A starter activity for age 16+ . Guaranteed to engage and enthuse learners from Entry Level 1 to Level 2. Students should make a note of each of the new words and then decide which one (out of 9) has not been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
It can prompt discussions on the words and learners can give their opinion on what they may mean.

Another expertly adapted text with ten missing apostrophes. Includes apostrophes of omission and possession (some example are challenging).
Inspired by Rachel Emmett’s ‘Capello Gerrard World Cup apostrophes’ resources (see below).

From one of our Australian contributors, this makes a good end of term quiz and discussion prompt re. similarities to cockney rhyming slang, informal language, etc.