Australia

The majority of our site users are from the UK but over the past 20 years we have had visitors from every country in the world (except North Korea!).
After Great Britain, our most frequent visits are from the US, India, Ireland, Australia and Canada (when updating this page on Jan 14 2023 my interesting visit of the day was from the Portuguese town of Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel Island in the Azores!).

Resources with an Australia tag  fall into one or more of the following categories:

  • cover Australian topics 
  • written by Australian contributors
  • written by UK contributors that live or have lived in Oz
  • include Australian currency in addition to UK currency (maths worksheets)

 UPDATED 19/4/23   -  UK and Australian versions both updated: an error fixed (headings on p2 in both versions) and remapped for Reformed Functional Skills Maths and English. Covers:

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
English
FE E1.4 Make requests & ask straightforward questions using appropriate terms & registers
FE E1.6 Make clear statements, communicate feelings & opinions on straightforward topics
FE E2.2 Make requests & ask clear questions appropriately in different contexts
FE E2.5 Clearly express straightforward information & communicate feelings / opinions
FE E1.5 Respond to questions about specific information
FE E2.3 Respond appropriately to straightforward questions
Maths
FM Simple one step problem(s)
FM E1.1 Read, write, order, compare numbers to 20
FM E1.3 Add numbers which total up to 20, & subtract numbers from numbers up to 20
FM E1.5 Recognise coins & notes, write them in numbers with the correct symbols (£, p) where these involve numbers up to 20
FM E2.12 Calculate money with pence up to £1 & in whole £s of multiple items, use correct symbols (£ or p)
FM E1.11 Read numerical information from lists
FM E2.22 Extract information from lists, tables, diagrams, bar charts
Context
Retail Hospitality Customer service
Catering Food Nutrition
Independent living

A quick but very useful match-up activity that makes a good starter activity for financial literacy or employment skills courses - and it's bound to prompt discussion.

Editor's note

Written for an Australian audience but I have added a UK version on page 2.  Learners can draw lines to match the items or, for a reusable resource, the page could be laminated and/or cut into 12 cards. 

 

 

Level
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
Functional Maths
General numeracy / maths
Popular topics
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Context
Employment skills & Public services
Business & Money management

Simplified news article about a bus crash in Australia. Reading activity with DARTs. Can be extended into a speaking and listening and writing activity.

Editor's notes

A very sad story.  Ideal for E2-E3 reading and discussion (and equivalent Australian levels). Dictionary/vocabulary work, T/F questions, sentences, cloze exercise and discussion prompt.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
English
FE E2.6 Make appropriate contributions to simple group discussions with others about a straightforward topic
FE E3.6 Make relevant contributions to group discussions about straightforward topics
FE E2.10 Use effective strategies to find words meanings & check spelling e.g. simple dictionary, spell-checker
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE E2.8 Understand the main points in texts
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE E2.11 Read & understand sentences with more than one clause
ESOL
ESOL Reading (R)
Context
News, Politics & Government items
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism

An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary, etc.) of the popular Using Formulae v2 written by Gordon Noblett in 2007. Useful, realistic practice – questions cover mobiles, cooking, printing photos, plumbing rates, etc. Each multi-part question is cleverly staggered so that learners build up a set of answers and then find a 'rule'. Includes 'formulae expressed in words' so some questions also suitable for Level 1 (in addition to Level 2).

Level
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM L1.5 Use simple formulae expressed in words for one or two-step operations
FM L2.3 Evaluate expressions & make substitutions in given formulae in words & symbols
Context
Business & Money management
Construction Carpentry Plumbing

An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary, curriculum details, etc.) of the popular Using Formulae written by Jean Thomas in 2006. Covers substituting into formulae, percentages and working with large numbers.

Editor's notes

Level
Level 2
Maths
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM Complex multi-step problem(s)
FM L2.2 Carry out calculations with numbers up to 1 million inc. strategies to check answers e.g. estimation & approximation
FM L2.3 Evaluate expressions & make substitutions in given formulae in words & symbols
FM L2.5 Work out percentages of amounts & express one amount as a percentage of another
FM L2.12 Follow the order of precedence of operators, including indices
Context
Business & Money management

An Australian version (i.e. uses A$, Australian vocabulary and minimum wage details, etc.) of the popular Stash the Cash written by Andy Morrell in 2010. In addition to currency changes this version also includes an extra version of the calculations table and other changes. For example,  the table on page 3 has extra columns to make the mathematical operations explicit and to allow students to practise writing mathematical “sentences”.

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM E3.8 Read, write & use decimals up to two decimal places
FM L1.2 Recognise and use positive and negative numbers
FM L1.11 Add, subtract, multiply & divide decimals up to 2 decimal places
FM L2.1 Read, write, order & compare positive & negative numbers of any size
FM E3.10 Calculate with money using decimal notation & express money correctly in writing in pounds and pence
FM E3.21 Extract information from lists, tables, diagrams, charts; create frequency tables
FM E3.23 Organise & represent information in appropriate ways inc. tables, diagrams, simple line graphs & bar charts
FM L1.29 Find the mean & range of a set of quantities
FM L2.23 Calculate the median & mode of a set of quantities
Context
Business & Money management
Independent living

Reading and related activities focusing on a simplified version of a BBC news article reporting the results of the 2021 Australian Census. Ideal for practising reading strategies including:  relating images to text, using headings, skimming, scanning and using context to predict. My (Australian) students found it challenging but were engaged in the content. Lots of possible ways it could lead into other written and oral activities. Numbers and a graph involved so can also be used to revise numeracy concepts such as percentages and extracting information from graphs.

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
General literacy / English
FE READING main points & detail
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
Maths
General numeracy / maths
ESOL
ESOL Reading (R)
Context
History, culture, museums, libraries

This scaffold has been designed to be used either as as a diary for use in class and / or as a way for students to record and reflect on their literacy/language experiences outside of the classroom.

Emojis are used to try to encourage them to consider and record their feelings.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
General literacy / English
Functional Skills English
ESOL
General ESOL
General
Aims & objectives, ILPs, reflections
Context
Education and teaching

Additional DARTs (directed activities related to text) developed to be used with the My Busy Day/Housework  E1/2 reading text written by Laurence Fletcher in 2010 and further adaptations by Nafisah Graham-Brown in 2012.

Editor's notes

 Three delightful E1 worksheets with a focus on sentence structure (rearranging sentences and splitting sentences up into individual words).

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
English
FE E1.9 Read simple sentences containing one clause
FE E1.8 Read correctly words designated for Entry Level 1
FE READING main points & detail
FE E2.11 Read & understand sentences with more than one clause
ESOL
ESOL Rs/E1.1a Read and recognise simple sentence structures:
Context
Independent living
Family and relationships

A simplified version of a news report taken from ABC's Behind the News. Dating from 2020 it talks bout US Gun Laws from an Australian perspective. The reading text also comes with comprehension questions, a cloze passage, dictionary activities and a writing prompt. There are related tasks at two levels E3/L1 and L1/2.

Editor's notes

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose
FE L2.27 Use language & register (e.g. persuasive techniques, supporting evidence, specialist words) to suit audience & purpose
ESOL
ESOL Rt/E3.1a Understand how meaning is built up in a variety texts of more than one paragraph
ESOL Rt/E3.4a Extract the main points and ideas, and predict words from context.
ESOL Rt/L1.3a Understand how main points and specific detail are presented and linked
ESOL Rw/E3.5a Use variety of reading strategies to read/understand unfamiliar words
ESOL: Writing - text focus (composition)
ESOL Rw/L1.1a Use reference material to find the meaning of unfamiliar words
ESOL Rw/L1.3a Recognise and understand an increasing range of vocabulary
Context
News, Politics & Government items