Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023, there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents.
This set of steps (taken from Coady & Nation (1988)) with a worked example shows students one process for doing a ‘best guess’ of what to do when they come across a new word. Followed by a set of 10 exercises with some lovely, unusual words.
Editor's note
Fully mapped to GCSE and the new 2018 Functional English content
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
English
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure
10/10/17 Several minor and one major correction made
These tasks assume no previous knowledge of compound sentences and/or conjunctions. They do assume the learner is familiar with simple sentences (i.e. one clause, one verb).
Aimed at E2-E3 students but could be useful at Level 1.
Tasks include joining pairs of Halloween sentences with a suitable conjunction; extending simple sentence with a suitable ‘ending’, and rewriting texts that are initially written using only simple sentence (in order to improve their organisation and readability).
Many of these common spellings used to crop up regularly in the former Level 1 literacy tests. They will also be useful for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills students.
They have been categorised to make learning more manageable for learners, but some spellings will fit into more than one group.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E3.17 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
FE L1.21 Spell words used most often in work, study and daily life, including specialist words
FE L2.22 Spell words used in work, study & daily life, including a range of specialist words
This was designed to be used with a group of dyslexic learners but would be applicable for any learners with spelling difficulties.
I have used this by separating the group into small groups or pairs and then giving each group a different strategy to try with one of the words from the word list (two are provided – one for E2-E3, one for L1-2) or a word of their own that they want to spell.
Visual colour-coded resource, explaining the main plural spelling rules. Created for E2/E3 learners, but could also be useful for all visual learners working between E2-L2.
Includes: colour-coded fact sheet, blank table, worksheet and flash cards to cut out and laminate. Could be used for a number of different activities.
Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
English
Prefixes, suffixes & plurals
AL Ww/L1.1 Spell & use spelling strategies
AL Ww/E3.2 Use phonic knowledge to help spelling
ESOL
ESOL Ww/L1.1b Use strategies to aid accurate spelling
ESOL Ww/L1.1a Apply knowledge about vocabulary to aid accurate spelling
ESOL Ww/E3.1a Apply spelling knowledge to a wide range of common & special-interest words
ESOL Ww/E2.1b Use knowledge of sound–symbol relationships & phonological patterns when spelling
A set of resources which explains the use of conjunctions and worksheets to practise using them correctly. Eight common conjunctions are covered in 5 different worksheets, along with a useful handout and a related word fill puzzle to check understanding.
Mapped to Entry Level 2 Functional English and E2-L1 Adult Literacy
Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
English
Functional English - writing
Adult Lit Ws/L1.1 Write in complete sentences
Ws/E3.1
Ws/E2.1
ESOL
ESOL Ws/L1.1a Write using complex sentences
ESOL Ws/E3.1a Write using complex sentences
ESOL Ws/E2.1a Construct simple and compound sentences
A succinct, beautifully clear and very useful one page handout and accompanying PPT. All the old favourites plus some that you might not be aware of. Includes suffixes, plurals, ible/able, etc.
The PPT could easily be contextualised to include words for specific vocational areas.
