FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context

L1.17 Read and understand a range of specialist words in context

Subject content [reformed] functional skills: English (DfE, Feb 2018): 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/functional-skills-subject-content-english

A reading comprehension exercise looking at organisational features and why they have been used, specialist language, purpose of text, picking out information.  There are also tasks to get the students looking at words they are not sure of and using a dictionary.  

There is an accompanying written task to create a leaflet using the information in the text.  I have also included a basic 'how to create a leaflet' guide.

Editor's notes

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias
FE Writing composition
FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose
FE L2.25 Organise writing for different purposes using appropriate format & structure e.g. standard templates, paragraphs, bullet points, tables
FE L2.27 Use language & register (e.g. persuasive techniques, supporting evidence, specialist words) to suit audience & purpose
Context
Employment skills & Public services

A challenging set of reading and writing (spelling and sentence structure only) tasks based on a WHO (World Health Organisation) report about sleep, screen and activity time for children under five.  This resource is not intended to emulate formal L1-2 summative assessment papers as it includes underpinning spelling and sentence structure tasks. In addition, some questions are deliberately challenging and beyond the Level 2 Functional English curriculum and, unlike formal assessment papers, questions are arranged by topic.

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
T Levels - embedded maths or English
English
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
FE E3.17 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
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
FE L1.25 Write consistently & accurately in complex sentences, using paragraphs where appropriate
FE L2.28 Construct complex sentences consistently & accurately, using paragraphs where appropriate
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 L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
FE L1.15 Infer from images meanings not explicit in the accompanying text
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
TL - Synthesise information
GCSE Reading AO1a Identify/interpret explicit & implicit information & ideas
GCSE Reading AO1b Select & synthesise evidence from different texts
GCSE Writing AO6 Vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation

A reading comprehension based on articles taken from Emily Coxhead's The Happy News.  This publication is to "celebrate all that's good in the world" and so it seemed a good time at the start of the year to have the opportunity to talk about the positives, rather than negatives, around us. Questions cover many aspects or the new reformed L1-2 curriculum including: main points & detail, textual and organisation features, interpreting punctuation and understanding vocabulary. I am also planning to use this as the basis of a speaking and listening discussion.

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
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 L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
Context
News, Politics & Government items
Mental health, awareness & psychology

A PowerPoint set of L1-L2 reading, maths and writing tasks. All are based on information a recent UK.gov Home Office fact sheet about Prevent and Channel*. The fact sheet can be found online or downloaded from this page. Main Functional Maths coverage is reading and comparing whole numbers and percentages, and percentage-fraction equivalents. Some questions involve calculating percentages or checking the figures that are quoted in the text (Level 2).

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose
FE L1.23 Write text of appropriate level of detail & length to meet needs of purpose & audience
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 L2.24 Write text of appropriate level of detail & length to meet needs of purpose & audience
FE L2.25 Organise writing for different purposes using appropriate format & structure e.g. standard templates, paragraphs, bullet points, tables
FE L2.27 Use language & register (e.g. persuasive techniques, supporting evidence, specialist words) to suit audience & purpose
Maths
FM L1.1 Read, write, order & compare large numbers (up to one million)
FM L1.8 Read, write, order & compare common fractions & mixed numbers
FM L1.13 Read, write, order & compare percentages in whole numbers
FM L1.14 Calculate percentages of quantities, inc. simple percentage increase / decrease by 5% & multiples of
FM L1.16 Recognise & calculate equivalences between common fractions, percentages & decimals
FM L2.4 Identify & know the equivalence between fractions, decimals & percentages
FM L2.6 Calculate percentage change (any size increase & decrease), & original value after % change
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Context
Health and safety
News, Politics & Government items

These two lessons explore the Windrush Scandal. 

The video gives an opportunity to listen for gist and detail, and is followed by a focus on sentence stress and intonation.

The article gives an opportunity for learners to analyse the purpose of the text and look at persuasive techniques, and is accompanied by a vocabulary from context exercise.

Level
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
English
FE L2.1 Identify relevant information from extended explanations or presentations
FE L2.2 Follow narratives & lines of argument
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.14 Understand how textual features/devices can shape meaning for different audiences/purposes
GCSE Reading AO1a Identify/interpret explicit & implicit information & ideas
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure
ESOL
ESOL Lr/L1.1a Extract information from texts of varying genre, e.g. radio, TV
ESOL Lr/L1.2e Listen for phonological detail
ESOL Lr/L1.6b Follow a discussion without participating e.g. on TV
ESOL Lr/L2.1a Extract information from extended texts in a non-face-to-face context, e.g. radio
ESOL Lr/L2.2a Listen to a narrative or conversation
ESOL Lr/L2.2e Listen for phonological detail
ESOL Rw/L1.2a Recognise & understand vocabulary associated with different types of text, using appropriate strategies to work out meaning
ESOL Rt/L1.2a Know how language and other textual features are used to achieve different purposes
ESOL Rw/L2.3a Recognise & understand vocabulary associated with different text types
ESOL Rt/L2.2a Identify the purposes of a wide range of texts, whether inferred or explicitly stated
Context
News, Politics & Government items

A set of Functional English tasks that underpin the revised Functional Skills English content, 2018 [1].  Resources will be released gradually (as they are written!) from Oct 21st until Nov 11th 2018. All tasks are based on one or more texts from a graduated set of seven, all focusing on the 2018 Armistice Centenary commemorations. Five sets of tasks, based on Texts A, B, C, D and E are now available.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E1.10 Understand a short piece of text on a simple subject
FE E2.8 Understand the main points in texts
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE E3.12 Understand organisational features & use them to locate relevant information
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE E2.14 Form regular plurals
FE E3.14 Form irregular plurals
FE E1.15 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 1
FE E2.16 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 2
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 E2.19 Write in compound sentences, using common conjunctions to connect clauses
FE E3.20 Use appropriate format & structure inc. appropriate use of headings & bullet points
Context
History, culture, museums, libraries
Voluntary, Charity and Community

This set of steps (taken from Coady & Nation (1988)) with a worked example shows students one process for doing a ‘best guess’ of what to do when they come across a new word. Followed by a set of 10 exercises with some lovely, unusual words.

Editor's note
Fully mapped to GCSE and the new 2018 Functional English content

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
GCSE L1-5
English
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L2.17 Analyse texts, of different levels of complexity, recognising their use of vocabulary and identifying levels of formality and bias
GCSE English Reading AO2 Explain & analyse language & structure