General Resources

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

A simplified version of a newspaper article. The reading is followed by comprehension questions, a meaning match, a word find, and a scanning for correct spelling exercise. Developed for an adult student with Asperger’s, as well as dyslexia, who needs lots of motivation and exercises easy enough for him to be able to be successful without too much help.

Adapted from a Level 1 resource What happens to Ice Falling from planes
from Dave Norgate (2010).

This resource helps learners hear rhymes and recognise corresponding letters/digraphs, rimes and onsets etc. Take simple limericks and poems and get your learners to put them together.

I created my own limericks to match work we had been doing on long vowel sounds (it is not that difficult to do once you get started). Well-known poems and nursery rhymes also proved particularly popular as many knew them already by heart from childhood and some were doing them now with their children.

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.

Wonderful visual aid to help learners remember how to proof read their work. Page one would make a great poster. Page 2 explains the process: start at the city of meaning and move across the land until you get to the city of Spelling!

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

When or Went? was written for students who confuse these two words in their writing. Suitable for E2-3 or dyslexia support at any level. Includes a wide selection of exercises and tips.

A work / help sheet for dyslexic learners who have difficulty distinguishing between these two letters. Underline the letters, read the words and write sentences.

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.

Margaret Adams wrote this story to help a dyslexic student distinguish between ‘want’ and ‘what’. Numbered ‘cartoon’ blanks for student to illustrate, plus introduction, story and background notes.