Adult Literacy, Functional English, and GCSE Resources

Displaying 21 - 30 of 523 resources:

For students struggling to learn the alphabet. It is an Alphabet Arc with further practice pages that have an increasing number of blanks to fill in. It is designed to be given out as one page at a time, to help in memorising it. I encourage my students to write out the alphabet on their exam paper, to avoid them making avoidable errors in the alphabetical order questions. 

Editor's note

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
English
FE E1.1 Say the names of the letters of the alphabet
FE 1.14 Write letters of alphabet in sequence & in upper / lower case
FE E2.15 Use 1st & 2nd letters to sequence words alphabetically

An extract from When I Was Ten (Fiona Cummins 2021) with questions 1, 2, 3 and 4. AQA Paper One-style exam practice. 

Editor's Note

Another wonderful text extract from Matthew Ruddle. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. 
Ideal for exam practice and revision. 

Level
GCSE L1-5
English
GCSE Reading AO1a Identify/interpret explicit & implicit information & ideas
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure
GCSE AO4 Evaluate texts critically & support with textual references

GCSE English Language Paper Two AQA exam-style texts and questions 1-4. 
Based on a contemporary source from Jay Rayner (2023) and a Victorian article (Henry Mayhew 1865).

Editor's notes
Another excellent GCSE Practice resource from Matthew with, as usual, a super choice of texts.

Level
GCSE L1-5
English
GCSE Reading AO1a Identify/interpret explicit & implicit information & ideas
GCSE Reading AO1b Select & synthesise evidence from different texts
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure
GCSE Reading AO3 Compare writers’ ideas & perspectives across 2 or more texts
Context
Catering Food Nutrition
Business & Money management

A Beginners / Entry 1 level set of activities to introduce and practise using adjectives within the theme of travel.

Practise vocabulary, antonyms, spelling, sentence structure and handwriting.

Editor's note

Although written for ESOL most parts of this resource are also very suitable for E1-2 Functional English. In addition to the many tasks it also provides a short overview of adjectives  and basic sentence structure . Great for the build up to summer holidays - or indeed any time of year!

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
English
FE E1.8 Read correctly words designated for Entry Level 1
FE E1.9 Read simple sentences containing one clause
FE E1.15 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 1
FE 1.16 Communicate information in words, phrases & simple sentences
FE E2.7 Read correctly words designated for Entry Level 2
FE E2.16 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 2
FS English E2.20 Use adjectives and simple linking words
ESOL
ESOL Rw/E1.1a Recognise a limited number of words, signs and symbols
ESOL Rs/E1.1a Read and recognise simple sentence structures:
ESOL Rw/E2.2a Recognise a range of familiar words
ESOL Ws/E1.1a Construct a simple sentence, using basic word order & verb form
ESOL Ws/E2.2a Use adjectives
ESOL Ww/E2.1b Use knowledge of sound–symbol relationships & phonological patterns when spelling
Context
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism

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

Written specifically for the new reformed English content which expects secure homophone skills at much lower levels than previously. Covers 6 of the 22 homophone spellings required at E3 using differentiated sets of cloze exercises. 6 sets each with 12-15 questions / sentences plus detailed teaching notes and an appendix listing all E1, E2 & E3 spellings.

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E3.17 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
FE L1.21 Spell words used most often in work, study and daily life, including specialist words
FE L2.22 Spell words used in work, study & daily life, including a range of specialist words
Homophones, homographs & confusables

Reading paper for L2 on The Cost of Living Crisis. Current topic and uses L2 reading exam paper format from Edexcel, Pearson. 

Editor's notes

Another fabulous and very relevant practice exam from Steph! Written Edexcel-style but very useful practice or revision for any awarding organisation. The mark sheet (also in Edexcel style) will be available shortly (for resource contributors only). Please visit  Answer sheets for more information and to check when it is available.

Level
Level 2
English
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L2.13 Identify implicit & inferred meaning in texts
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias
FE L2.18 Follow an argument, identifying different points of view & distinguishing fact from opinion
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
FE L2.12 Compare information, ideas & opinions in different texts, inc. how they are conveyed
Context
Business & Money management
Independent living
News, Politics & Government items

A set of tasks to practise reading and writing skills. Read about a student and his work and college life.

  • Practise using conjunctions.
  • Learn synonyms
  • Practise using punctuation correctly.
  • Write about your own experience of studying and working

Editor's notes

So practical and down to earth! Find out about Joseph's day to day college life and his busy job with Deliveroo. Also very useful for E2-E3 Functional Skills English students.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
English
General literacy / English
FE E2.13 Use basic punctuation correctly (e.g. full stops, question, exclamation marks)
FE E3.13 Use a range of punctuation correctly (e.g. full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, commas)
FE E2.8 Understand the main points in texts
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE E2.19 Write in compound sentences, using common conjunctions to connect clauses
ESOL
ESOL Rt/E2.1a Use a range of strategies to trace & understand main events
ESOL Rw/E2.2a Recognise a range of familiar words
ESOL Rt/E3.1a Understand how meaning is built up in a variety texts of more than one paragraph
ESOL Ws/E2.1a Construct simple and compound sentences
ESOL Ws/E2.3a Use correct punctuation, e.g. capital letters, full stops, question marks
ESOL Ws/E2.1a Construct simple and compound sentences
ESOL Ws/E3.3a Use punctuation to aid clarity in relation to beginnings and ends of sentences
ESOL Ws/E3.2a Use basic sentence grammar accurately
Context
Education and teaching
Employment skills & Public services
Independent living