Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

Fourteen questions related to Remembrance Day (topics include WW1, WW2 ration books,  Korean War, war poetry, etc.). Use as a traditional paper-based quiz or an IT based investigation. Learners could work individually or in teams / small groups. One way of approaching the quiz would be to see what the class as a whole can answer from their general knowledge befor

20 literacy and numeracy questions to warm up the new term! All based on the words HAPPY NEW YEAR (can easily be adapted for other festivals such a Diwali, New Year’s Eve or Ramadan). Covers vowels, consonants, number, ratios, simple substitution, range, mode and more!
Ideal for mixed ability groups (E1-L2). Also provides very good practice in reading instructions carefully.
For higher level groups it could be completed in teams as a speed test.

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.

Everything you need for embedding literacy / Functional English into a teaching session that looks at drugs.

Learners explore the types types of drugs and also some of the origins of the problem. It covers types of text and some reading and spelling, including segmenting. There is also a ‘DARTs’ type exercise that explores how to treat a person who may become ill, instructions to re-order, and posters to laminate and discuss.

Some of the posters are quite powerful and may require discretion with their use, but are good illustrations of this type of text.

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.

This is a spelling game that allows the tutors to test the learners, the learners to test the tutors and then the learners to test each other. It is fun, competitive, supportive and covers the following areas:

• Spelling
• Skimming and scanning
• Speaking and listening
• Discussion/debating skills
• Writing complete sentences
• Decoding unfamiliar words

Makes a good end of term or pre-test activity. 24 fun yet challenging questions cover advanced punctuation (apostrophes, colons, semi-colons), spelling, suffixes, fact/opinion, vocabulary, parts of speech, and more. Can be used individually or in teams.
A separate answer sheet is also available (see below). Thanks to Marion Martin for writing this.

Literacy and numeracy questions all based on the word CHRISTMAS (can easily be adapted for other seasonal festivals such a Diwali, New Year’s Eve or Ramadan). Covers vowels, consonants, number, ratios, simple substitution, range, mode and more!
Ideal for mixed ability groups (E1-L2). Also provides very good practice in reading instructions carefully.
Updated Nov 2011 – see comments below

Two start of term quiz or diagnostic exercises (or use simply to get learners into the swing of things!) cover reading comprehension, sentence structure and punctuation, writing and spelling.
One for E2-E3, one for L1-L2.