Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

Short simplified text about Accession Day 2022 when the Queen marks 70 years as monarch and also remembers the death of her father, King George). Differentiated reading questions are followed by writing tasks (alphabetical order (2 levels), punctuation, regular plurals and a final composition questions (2 levels).

Editor's note

As this resource has a short shelf life there will be no separate answer/mapping sheet but all questions are mapped and have suggested marks.

What are gender roles and how do they impact our daily lives? What changes can we make, and how? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about gender roles and their wider impact while building their English skills.

Editor's note

Why should we be mindful of the language we use around disability? How can we show awareness? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about the importance of equality while building their English skills.

Editor's note

25/1/2022 15:55 updated: ambiguity removed from Q12 (purpose of commas) & answer sheet now available

St Dwynwen's Day is celebrated every year on January 25 and is often referred to as the "Welsh St Valentine's Day".  Learn more about the history of Dwynwen whilst consolidating many aspects of Functional English reading including: purpose, style, identifying meaning, vocabulary and dictionary work, organisational features, main points and detail, and using punctuation to aid understanding. 

Two pages of extra questions for our very popular "John's Crazy Socks" resource by Eleanor Kliffen (Jan 2018). Ideal for homework or stretch & challenge.  Questions are mixed levels with a focus on *parts of speech, punctuation and grammar (tense).  Language features are also touched upon. 

Editor's note

Although parts of speech are not specifically covered in the FS Content descriptors, a basic knowledge of nouns, verbs and subjects can be very useful when teaching sentence structure.

Why do we complain? What methods do we have for complaining and how often are they successful? What is the best way to complain? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about complaints, and the best way to make a complaint while building their English skills.

Editor's notes

Two sets of differentiated texts and reading questions based on a news article about a local radio station (Bromyard FM). The subject matter still relevant even if the lockdown is (hopefully!) a thing of the past.

Editor's note

The E1 version has simplified vocabulary and sentence structure and has 4 multiple choice questions that cover all three E1 reading criteria. The E2-E3 version has a longer more complex text with six questions (not multiple choice) mostly covering 'main points and ideas'.

Why are names important? What can we learn from them?

Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about the importance of names while building their English skills. (For example: vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation, research, discussion and a mini writing task).

Editor's notes

Ideal as an ice breaker at the start of the year - although the wealth of material, discussion points and links mean it could easily fill an entire lesson! Topics covered include:

NEW 8/2/22  answer sheets now also  available for both versions (E2-E3 and L1-L2) - visit our ANSWER SHEETS page for more information.
New 27/1/2022  A related interactive Wordwall activity (using punctuation to aid understanding) is now available to accompany this resource.

Why do we need hobbies and interests? What impact do they have on our mental health? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about the importance of individual and group hobbies and interests while building their English skills.

Editor's note