Equality and Diversity

Black History Month slides for English Functional Skills. Covers a broad range of skills such as discussion points, comprehension, working out vocabulary from context and/or with a dictionary, language features, organisational features, fact and opinion, and punctuation. 

Editor's note

I created this L2 Functional Skills resource a couple of years ago for a  young adult group that used particularly 'salty' language. As well as a reading comprehension task, it led to some fruitful discussion about swearing in general, appropriate use of language with different audiences, and facilitated the setting of some mutually agreed ground rules.

Editor's note (19/3/2020): answer sheet now available (contributors only)

Based on a text about the annual St Patrick's Parade in London. Aimed at L1 /L2 Reformed Functional Skills learners but also includes some Entry Level questions. Unlike formal assessment papers, questions are arranged by topic so that teachers can pick and choose the subjects they want to focus on. Includes: 

Level 2 reading resource analysing purpose, identifying points of view, organisational and language features, and implied meaning.

Based on a BBC news article where architect Sir David Adjaye calls for a 'long overdue' black culture museum in Britain.

Editor's note

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.

Devised for L1 as a first lesson for ratio utilising practical applications for ratio understanding. Please print the last slide as a worksheet to accompany the PPT.

Editor's notes

Introductory example using a KitKat bar, followed by other everyday applications including screen wash, hair tint and paints.  Also (very nicely) covers equality & diversity with discussion about the proportion of White British players in the 2018 England squad.

A reading comprehension and writing activity at L1/L2 and at E3 on Walter Tull, one of England’s first black professional footballers and the UK’s first black army officer. He has an inspiring story and was killed in action in France 100 years ago (March 25, 1918). David Lammy MP is calling for his Military Cross to be awarded posthumously as an inspiration to others. Plenty of possibilities for speaking and listening discussions around the topic.

Editor's note

A reading comprehension and vocabulary activity suitable for both ESOL and Literacy / Functional Skills. The activities are based on a BBC News article about John Cronin’s online business, John’s Crazy Socks. John, who has Down’s Syndrome, is a co-founder of the business, along with his father, Mark.

This teaching and assessment resource combines reading comprehension and a letter writing task based on an advert for a volunteer role as a Customer Service Assistant for a charity shop.

In Task 1, students read the job advert and answer questions to check their understanding. In Task 2, they make notes about their personal skills and qualities, then draft and write a letter to apply for the volunteer role. An additional, extension task is provided for students who either work at a faster pace or at a higher level, and involves writing a personal statement for a college course.

I have had feedback from people using the Big Brother PDF discussion worksheet (see link below – under see also) but without any pictures! The fun part of the session (and for it to really work) is to show the students the people they have chosen: this generates plenty of discussion about prejudice and stereotyping. So, here are the 20 pictures to match to each description given in the earlier resource. (You should feel free to edit and adapt according to the demographics / prejudices / preconceptions of own students).