Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

A set of tasks to practise reading and writing skills. Read about a student and his work and college life.

• Practise using conjunctions.
• Learn synonyms
• Practise using punctuation correctly.
• Write about your own experience of studying and working

Editor's notes

So practical and down to earth! Find out about Joseph's day to day college life and his busy job with Deliveroo. Also very useful for E2-E3 Functional Skills English students.

This scaffold has been designed to be used either as as a diary for use in class and / or as a way for students to record and reflect on their literacy/language experiences outside of the classroom.

Emojis are used to try to encourage them to consider and record their feelings.

Learner reflection sheet for learners of Functional Skills with prompts to think about next steps.

Editor's Note

An inspiring and friendly-looking 2 page document. Ideal for Functional Maths and English learners from E3 upwards. Very useful! 

I have had feedback from people using the Big Brother PDF discussion worksheet (see link below – under see also) but without any pictures! The fun part of the session (and for it to really work) is to show the students the people they have chosen: this generates plenty of discussion about prejudice and stereotyping. So, here are the 20 pictures to match to each description given in the earlier resource. (You should feel free to edit and adapt according to the demographics / prejudices / preconceptions of own students).

Video task and reading comprehension based on the style of Entry ESOL reading exams. Taken from BBC Newsround website.

Editor’s note
Questions suitable for mixed ability classes from E2-L1 and make good discussion prompts for further work.

Rugby themed task on reading (use of quotations and dialogue, facts versus opinions), researching and writing a short article. Topic links to ICT, suitable for use during e.g. Rugby World Cup, Six Nations Tournament or with any group keen on sport![img_assist|nid=5708|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=100|height=71]

Simulation of completing an online CV. Very easy to use, fill in the boxes and print after completion.

Some games to play with literacy or Functional English groups for revision.
Ideal for Entry 3-Level 2

Editor’s note
The students make the games, play them and then discuss them. A great combination!

A collection of resources based around the BBC programme CrimeWatch.
Designed with L1 Functional English students in mind, the lesson can lead in to further discussion about crime, security, safety etc.

Editor’s note
The PPT also acts as a lesson outline which covers the following learning objectives.

Students design a board game to demonstrate their learning. This can incorporate IT skills (Word template provided below) or can be done with paper, card and pens.

I originally did this with an E2E group and it proved popular. It’s an alternative to the “design a poster” task to review learning. The instructions are set out as a board game. it can be used for literacy, numeracy, ICT or ESOL.