General Resources

In a world where social media is everywhere and in our lives day and night the impact of this on people as individuals can be a mixture of positivity and negativity. For a lot of people the impact of the promotion of having the ‘perfect body’ whether you are male / female can have a devastating impact for example bullying, mental health and worst case scenario suicide.  So how can we improve / promote a more positive image using social media and support m

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.

Learners must choose the next manager of the England football team. Using the task sheet to guide them, they must research, collate and present information for five candidates and then make the final choice.

There is scope for plenty of lively discussion around the choices made and also about what the manager’s job entails.

A Power Point presentation is included as an example, but can also be printed out to use in some of the additional activities described.

A topical investigation that can be used as a group or individual task. Learners imagine they have won tickets in the ballot and must plan their trip to Buckingham Palace.
Ideal for E3-L1 Functional maths, English and ICT but could be easily adapted for higher or lower levels.

A great project that covers many Functional maths and Functional English criteria. You win the lottery, buy a mobile phone shop and have to furnish it from catalogues and/or Internet sites.

Learn about budgeting, displaying data, working with areas and floor plans, bank statements, rounding, estimating, and much more. Everything must be written up as a comprehensive report with a clear conclusion (a great guidance page on report writing is included in the resource).

Investigate the possibility of a college stocking fairly traded products in its canteen. Covers many reading, writing, ICT, numeracy, speaking and listening skills inc. data handling, report writing, creating charts and questionnaires, giving a presentation, etc. Ideal for embedding all three functional skills (or literacy, numeracy and ICT) especially for business students.

A web research project that covers money and general reading / research / writing skills. You must plan a trip for 15 pre-school children.

A great project that covers many L1/2 numeracy elements. You win the lottery, buy a nursery and have to furnish it from catalogues and/or Internet sites.
Learn about budgeting, displaying data, working with areas and floor plans, bank statements, rounding, estimating, and much more. Everything must be written up as a comprehensive report with a clear conclusion (a great guidance page on report writing is included in the resource).

A substantial resource designed to encourage students to tackle large projects in bite sized pieces. Originally used with E2E learners but suitable for all age groups. Aimed at E3- L1, it covers many literacy and numeracy topics and also requires some IT and research skills. Also used for L1 Key Skills IT portfolios and would now (2010) make an ideal Functional Skills project.

Planning a Journey. Research and plan a journey for Wales to Italy. Structured, with fill-in boxes for destinations, mode of transport, cost, etc. Covers many areas of the E3 – L1 literacy & numeracy curricula. Inc: money, timetables, calendars, extracting information, reading strategies.
Written for learners on the autistic spectrum (who often find it particularly difficult to infer meaning that is not explicitly stated) but suitable for many literacy and/or numeracy students.