Updated June 2017
New Entry 3 reading and writing tasks added. Available below as a separate PDF file. You will also need to download the L1-2 version as it uses the same text.
Level
Level 2
Level 1
Entry Level 3
English
Functional English - writing
Functional English - speaking, listening & communicating
20 literacy and numeracy questions to warm up the new term! All based on the words HAPPYNEWYEAR (can easily be adapted for other festivals such a Diwali, New Year’s Eve or Ramadan). Covers vowels, consonants, number, ratios, simple substitution, range, mode and more!
Ideal for mixed ability groups (E1-L2). Also provides very good practice in reading instructions carefully.
For higher level groups it could be completed in teams as a speed test.
This is a great session starter. Students will work on their sentence construction and vocabulary with a card game that allows them to experiment with word order and effective word choice. Students have to put the words into a sensible order, even if the subject of their film is far from sensible.
In this game, students compete to make the scariest film title, or to sabotage other people’s film titles. It is a light hearted and fun game. The film titles created can also become writing prompts.
This is a combination of speaking & listening, note taking & writing, that I have used successfully as an ice breaker with new groups. It involves learners talking to several people and finding out about their food likes & dislikes (plus allergies, religious considerations etc) before planning a menu for a dinner party. The menu must be acceptable to all the guests! Finally each learner produces their menu presented in a conventional style.
Level
Entry Level 3
English
Functional English - writing
Functional English - speaking, listening & communicating
This resource arose from a conversation with a learner who had lost their debit card a number of times in the cash machine because they couldn’t read the screen fast enough.
I used it by discussing each of the screens with learners and then having them work through the reading text and the accompanying exercises. Even better, if you have access to the internet, you can show different images of ATM screens and discuss them.
Simplified texts and DARTS activities with follow up writing tasks at E1 and E2.
Based on material from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website http://hmd.org.uk/
Prior to completing the reading and writing tasks the class listened to a podcast of a survivor talking about their experiences.The material from both the listening activity (http://hmd.org.uk/resources/podcasts/i-was-there)
A collection of resources based around the BBC programme CrimeWatch.
Designed with L1 Functional English students in mind, the lesson can lead in to further discussion about crime, security, safety etc.
Editor’s note
The PPT also acts as a lesson outline which covers the following learning objectives.
This is great as a warm-up activity or a bit of end-of-term fun. It is suitable for a mixed ability group of numeracy learners, or indeed literacy or ESOL learners. This quiz tests learners’ knowledge of how old someone has to be in order to do certain things legally, e.g. be a blood donor. It can be used in small group or pair work (which worked well for me) as well as individually.