Functional Skills English

An unusual and very useful exercise written for preparation for work students who were nervous of taking messages and writing down information. It also provides useful reading and comprehension practice for all Entry Level learners and will prompt discussion on the importance of asking the right questions and writing down messages.
Ideal for Entry Level work skills students and for underpinning Entry 2 Functional English. Fully mapped to E2 Functional English crieria and the Skills for Life curriculum.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
English
Functional Skills English
AL Rt/E2.1 Follow main points of short texts
AL Rt/E3.1 Understand longer texts
SLc/E2.2
SLc/E3.4
Context
Employment skills & Public services

A series of tasks designed as both an embedded literacy / Functional English assignment and also as a model to assist Art and Design students who had to make a portfolio describing various types of fabric.
It would be of interest to other learners who enjoy fashion subjects, leading to an extended project on silk in the fashion industry. Includes reading, watching a video, discussion, research and writing.

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
Functional Skills English
General literacy / English
Context
Art Film Media Music Radio TV

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.

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
Functional Skills English
General literacy / English
Maths
Data Handling
Functional Maths
ICT
Functional ICT
Level 1 and 2 CLAIT / ECDL
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Context
Business & Money management

An excellent practice paper that could also be used as an initial assessment. Covers speaking, listening and communication; reading and writing. Ideal for all those providers now switching from adult literacy to Functional English.

Level
Level 1
English
Functional Skills English
General literacy / English

A great 3 hour Key Skills Communication / Literacy Level 1 / Functional English lesson plan for Painting & Decorating students. Also includes cards for hands-on planning and discussion (in small groups) and work sheet / writing frame for drafting a job program for a 3 bedroom house.

Level
Level 1
English
Functional Skills English
General literacy / English
Context
Painting Decorating & DIY

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.

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
English
Functional Skills English
Maths
Functional Maths
ICT
Functional ICT
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Context
Employment skills & Public services

Major update June 2021 written for the Adult Literacy Core Curriculum but updated to reflect the Reformed Functional Skills English content. This PPT makes an ideal starter for an Entry Level session on adjectives and is designed to be intertwined with Emma Scotland’s worksheet of the same name (listed under See Also). Seamlessly moves from group work to paired work to individual work. Also provides useful Entry Level 1 reading practice (simple sentences).

Editor’s notes

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
English
FS English E2.20 Use adjectives and simple linking words
FE E1.9 Read simple sentences containing one clause
Adult Lit Ws/E2.2 Use Adjectives
Functional Skills English
ESOL
ESOL Rs/E1.1a Read and recognise simple sentence structures:
ESOL Ws/E2.2a Use adjectives