General Resources

An ESOL lesson embedding numeracy, diversity and British values, centred on the Spring Equinox and three festivals which happen around / on this day - Purim, Holi and Shunbun No Hi. Learners collect unfamiliar words on a vocabulary sheet and ask and answer questions to elicit meaning / explanation. There is a powerpoint to introduce the topic, using acronyms eg 7DIAW  - Seven Days In A Week to elicit key words, and lead to an explanation of what the Vernal Equinox is and when it is.

A-Z chart of pictures with the corresponding initial sound. I’ve tried to select pictures which Beginner ESOL adults will recognise.

This is a simple resource that has proven to be a very effective motivational tool with pre entry to level 2 learners.

A list of buzz words I sometimes use with learners when doing reviews – helps them to come up with ideas about how they are progressing and how their learning is making a difference in their lives.

A set of posters / cards / checklists designed to prompt discussion, check learning and keep a record of student progression. Designed for Entry Level Functional Maths and English learners in an FE setting but suitable for all levels and subjects.
This resource was inspired by discussion on the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics) site about “understanding versus doing” and I would like to thank the forum members for their ideas and feedback.

A really interesting quick quiz – originally written to get e2e learners interested in numbers but makes an ideal warm up activity for any group (at any level).

A clever spreadsheet that creates a set of 15 loop or ‘follow me’ cards. Comes with a prewritten set of cards based on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 100 but can you can easily add your own questions and answers on any topic.

Questioning for understanding is a really useful help sheet that encourages learners to ask relevant questions (any topic, any level). Based on Kipling’s “What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who” with teaching ideas and useful links.

For a related resource using the same idea to investigate and write newspaper reports please see Ellie Walsh’s Looking at Newspapers (below).

Handy reference for Entry Level ESOL and Literacy learners. Helps with Alphabetical order, upper / lower case and vowels / consonants.

A great help sheet for dyslexic learners who have difficulty remembering the difference between b and d. Tip: for some learners it may be best to teach just one strategy. For example, if they are left-handed show them the left-handed ‘thumbs up’ only.