General Resources

This is a news article about the sinking of the Costa Concordia. It is focused on an account of the situation as reported by the local mayor.
The article is accompanied by questions about what might be inferred from the account, what might be the mayor’s opinion and whether or not the account is biased. The questions have been used with adults studying for Edexcel Functional Skills at Level 2.

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.

A set of resources created for a group 16-19 year olds with high functioning ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) but suitable for any E2-E3 literacy /Functional English student.

Involves discussion of year’s highlights, and a written reflection and prediction exercise. Finally, the students record their hopes and wishes which are then kept in sealed envelopes until l the end of the academic year (or other agreed date).

A really unusual reading comprehension exercise that also tests a range of maths skills (dates, large numbers, distance, etc.). Although the general reading level is around Level1 it is based on an Australian news article about a lottery winner and contains a lot of unfamiliar Australian vocabulary. Thus it also stretches Level 2 learners. An optional glossary is provided; this includes words such as swag, Slikpik, shire and half a dozen more.

A multi-functional resource for Literacy or Numeracy. Sample TV listings by day, programme, start and end times, channel and genre. Use for alphabetic or numeric sorting, skimming and scanning exercises, literacy social sight vocabulary for days of the week, numeracy exercises for calculating time, etc. This resource contains some sample exercise questions to use which can be developed further according to need. I laminated the sheets and then cut up into days so lower level learners can move the elements around. Higher level learners can work from the whole page sheets as well.

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.

Two versions of a planner / writing frame (one is more detailed than the other) that encourage learners to look critically at non-fiction information books – looking out for features such as illustrations, headings, glossaries etc. and extracting interesting facts.
Written for young adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Aspergers Syndrome but suitable for all.

A useful planner to focus learners and help them decide what to write about, and what information and layout features to use. Use in conjunction with Anne’s non fiction book review.
Written for young adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Aspergers Syndrome but suitable for all.

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.