Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

A wonderful kinaesthetic card matching game designed to help learners remember when to use capital letters.

The game comprises 52 picture cards (26 proper nouns, 26 common nouns) and [img_assist|nid=4758|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=58]26 double ended upper-lowercase dominoes. It not only reinforces knowledge of capital letters but also is a good speaking and listening activity. Learners often debate what or who the picture is and where it needs to go.

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.

A set of posters / cards / checklists designed to prompt discussion, check learning and keep a record of student progression. Designed for Entry Level Functional Maths and English learners in an FE setting but suitable for all levels and subjects.
This resource was inspired by discussion on the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics) site about “understanding versus doing” and I would like to thank the forum members for their ideas and feedback.

My Entry Level SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) Marking Sheet is a simple tick sheet that can be used by students to check each other’s work for spelling and grammar errors. Helpful for encouraging groups of learners to ‘peer assess’ and also reinforces what to look for when proofreading work.

The sheet is a simplified version of the spelling and grammar skills covered in the Entry Functional Skills English Standards. It includes space for comments and also indicates which skills relate to each of the Entry levels via straightforward indices.

This is an adapted and expanded version of Jodie Travis’ ‘Hired or Fired’ resource which is of course based on the popular TV show “The apprentice”. I used Jodie’s resource last year with a really big group, getting them to create a poster to ‘sell’ Manchester. I added some more ‘Apprenticey’ bits in, such as getting them to pitch their ideas at the front of the class after they’d made the posters, and it worked really well.

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:

How ‘flash’ presentation of social sight vocabulary proved to be motivating. The technique is described and some thoughts about why it seems to have such positive effects on several different levels are offered, and feedback sought.

A student friendly resource. Uses the Functional Skills English Skills Standards / Coverage and Range information to keep track of students’ progress.

Three separate 3-page documents to track success in reading, writing, and speaking – listening – communication.

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.

A wonderfully detailed plan for 3 × 2 hours sessions for computer beginners. It is also mapped to the literacy curriculum – making it ideal for embedded learning and Entry Functional ICT. Includes scheme of work, session plans, feedback/evaluation forms and 7 resource sheets.
ICT covers creating, opening, printing a document; formatting, printing, copying, proof reading. Mapped to Entry 2 and 3 speaking & listening, and writing (including several exercises on conjunctions and compound sentences).