Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

Based on the exercises in the Functional Skills Entry Level English exams, this is a revision resource that also provides practice in spelling and reading. I use this as a starter activity, whilst the students are settling into the classroom. It is not intended to be completed at one time. The resource is kept in their folders and can also be used in spare time or for homework. 

A light-hearted poem to celebrate International Pi Day and British Pie Week.  Pi Day is celebrated on 14th March every year (3.14) and British Pie Week is usually during the first full week of March.

In English classes this poem could be used as a discussion starter on the theme of food likes and dislikes, vegetarianism and diet.

In Maths classes it could be used as a humorous introduction to Pi.

Editor's notes

Love this  :) 

Short sets of words for alphabetic sorting.   These can be used with literacy or ESOL learners.  I found they worked well at the beginning of each session while learners were still arriving into the class.  They work well as individual or pairs exercises.

The first set works best when each list is cut up and laminated as individual words in each group, so learners can sort them kinaesthetically.  

A list of simple sentences, some of which are common sayings. They all contain a word which has more than one meaning. The list can be used to improve vocabulary, and also to show students the importance of context in understanding the meaning of a word. Could be used as a warm-up for a reading lesson.

Three sets of dominoes to use in warm-up and for letter and word recognition activities. The first set, for pre-Entry ESOL and Literacy learners with very low levels of letter and word recognition, matches lower case to capital letter versions, the second set is a set of “doubles”, which can be used alongside the first. The third set, for pre-Entry / Entry 1 ESOL learners, matches a category to an example. Each set has 17 dominoes, so 4 each for a group of 4 learners, plus one to start.

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.

This study considers the emerging issue of consciousness in pedagogy both theoretically and practically. It examines why this issue is of fundamental significance for teaching and learning. Basic assumptions are clarified and the psychological and philosophical fundamentals of consciousness theory explored.

A practice paper written for Entry 3 Adult Literacy C&G exams at E3 but suitable for, and fully mapped to, Functional English.

All activities are based on a New Year’s Eve theme. The main text and related comprehension questions are about New Year’s Eve superstitions. Other activities include form filling, alphabetical order, dictionary work, planning and writing, and group discussion.

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Three differentiated writing tasks / practice papers on the same theme. First, you apply to appear in a Christmas Concert at the village hall. Later, you hear you have got a place in the concert and write an email inviting your friends to come and watch.

I wrote these tasks as an informal summative assessment end-of-term activity for a mixed level E1-E3 group of 16-19 year-olds, but they are suitable for any age group.

A fabulous City and Guilds style E3 literacy assignment that covers all aspects of E3 speaking and listening, reading and writing (see editor’s note below). Based on a trip to a seaside music festival, it makes a very appealing summer-time revision activity for music fans of any age.