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.

Reading and related activities focusing on a simplified version of a BBC news article reporting the results of the 2021 Australian Census. Ideal for practising reading strategies including:  relating images to text, using headings, skimming, scanning and using context to predict. My (Australian) students found it challenging but were engaged in the content. Lots of possible ways it could lead into other written and oral activities. Numbers and a graph involved so can also be used to revise numeracy concepts such as percentages and extracting information from graphs.

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.

Cloze activity, reading and a writing exercise to mark National Obesity Awareness Week which runs 12th-18th January 2015, although the activity does not specifically refer to this and so can be used at any time. The cloze acts as an introduction, while the reading should stimulate discussion and provide the background for the writing activity. The writing task includes space for planning and drafting.

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.

Simplified texts and DARTS activities with follow up writing tasks at E1 and E2.
Based on material from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website http://hmd.org.uk/
Prior to completing the reading and writing tasks the class listened to a podcast of a survivor talking about their experiences.The material from both the listening activity (http://hmd.org.uk/resources/podcasts/i-was-there)

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.

A lovely unit of work from Australia. Designed to be used during and after the games.
Cloze exercise, web research, discussion and self-evaluation.

Editor’s note
Apologies, the resource file had gone missing! Re-attached Dec 9, 2013