Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

This is great as a warm-up activity or a bit of end-of-term fun. It is suitable for a mixed ability group of numeracy learners, or indeed literacy or ESOL learners. This quiz tests learners’ knowledge of how old someone has to be in order to do certain things legally, e.g. be a blood donor. It can be used in small group or pair work (which worked well for me) as well as individually.

A classic anonymous poem that has the correct spelling but the wrong words.

Read the poem aloud to your students before they have sight of it. Then give them page 1 of the work sheet.

Worksheets and tasks around the theme of emergencies. Written for ESOL but also suitable for adult literacy and Functionakl English.

Fun and fast paced team game for any group from E2 to L2. The focus is on looking up words quickly and accurately. Full instructions included. Easily differentiated for different groups.
Makes a great warm up exercise.

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.

Fabulous set of resources – aimed at E2-L1 Functional English but some activities are also suitable for E1 and/or L2.
10 different sets of resources encompassing a range of teaching strategies and covering many aspects of reading, writing, and discussion. A detailed mapping document is included.
Includes the following activities/topics:

Sparkling sentences for bonfire night is a lovely seasonal literacy starter activity that covers adjectives, adverbs, sentence structure and punctuation. The focus is on extending simple sentences to compound or complex setences. You will need a packet of sparklers.

Students must circulate and question other class members in order to complete the bingo grid. Makes a great ice-breaker or warm-up activity. Also makes a good lead in to sentence work.
Aapted from Heidi Griffin’s original version (see below), this new version is differentiated for a slightly higher level learner group and includes sentences to be completed by the learner. Covers many speaking & listening elements (asking & answering questions, giving personal information, etc.).

A warm-up activity. Students must choose letters of the alphabet and then complete the given categories. The more unusual their words (i.e. if the words are not used by other class members) the more points they get!

A great Entry Level ice-breaker or warm-up activity. Students must circulate and question other class members in order to complete the bingo grid. Also provides a good lead in to sentence work. Covers many speaking and listening elements (asking and answering questions, giving personal information, etc.).