Latest Resources & Links

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A Halloween narrative - writing task

Read a narrative account and use it as model for planning and writing your own narrative about a memorable day.

Editor's note

Can be used at any time of year - not just Halloween!

 

 

Level
Level 1
English
FE L1.22 Communicate information, ideas & opinions clearly, coherently & accurately
FE L1.23 Write text of appropriate level of detail & length to meet needs of purpose & audience
FE L1.24 Use format, structure & language appropriate for audience & purpose
FE L1.25 Write consistently & accurately in complex sentences, using paragraphs where appropriate
ESOL
ESOL Reading (R)

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GCSE Maths Angle Facts place mat

A two-sided A3 'place mat' that has the following

Level
GCSE L1-5
Maths
Properties and contructions

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Past Simple - Regular and Irregular Verbs Christmas

An activity to introduce the past simple form by reading about Christmas. Read about Christmas in the present and past tense then identify regular and irregular and past simple verbs. Introduces students to past tense and also familiarises them with British Christmas traditions.

Editor's note

Wonderful! I love the simplicity yet usefulness of this resource.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
ESOL
General ESOL
ESOL Sc/E3.4a Express clearly statements of fact 
ESOL Sc/E3.4c Give an account/narrate events in the past
ESOL Rs/E1.1a Read and recognise simple sentence structures:
ESOL Reading (R)
ESOL Rt/E1.1a Follow a short narrative on a familiar topic or experience
ESOL Rt/E2.1a Use a range of strategies to trace & understand main events
ESOL Rt/E2.2a Understand & identify the different purposes of short, straightforward texts
Context
Faith & Religion
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism

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The Last Burger in Iceland.

Entry Level Reading paper with questions.  Can be used as practice for the Functional Skills Reading paper. The questions are based on that format. 

Editor's notes

A great choice of text that is bound to be of interest to many FS learners. Questions cover all of the E3 reading elements. Would also be useful for Level 1.

Level
Entry Level 3
English
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE E3.12 Understand organisational features & use them to locate relevant information
FE E3.10 Identify different purposes of straightforward texts
Context
Catering Food Nutrition

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Alphabet Arc in upper and lower case, with practice exercises.

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
FS Eng 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

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Adult Numeracy core curriculum (DfES, 2001)

Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023, there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents. 

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
Adult numeracy curriculum
ESOL
General ESOL

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Adult Literacy core curriculum (DfES, 2001)

Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023, there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents. 

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
Adult literacy curriculum
ESOL
General ESOL

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Adult ESOL core curriculum (DfES, 2001)

Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023 there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents. 

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
ESOL
General ESOL
ESOL Listen and respond (Lr)
ESOL Speaking (S)
ESOL Reading (R)
ESOL Writing (W)
Adult ESOL Curriculum

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When I Was Ten AQA GCSE English Paper 1-style practice

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

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Unscramblerer dictionary - Word of the Day and other resources

I like this - it's very well executed - even though I'm not sure exactly how it could be used within a Functional Skills English classroom. I receive many suggested links and mostly ignore them (due to them not being free or not being useful for Functional Skills). However, I always have a soft spot for "Words of the Day" as they can make great warm up activties at almost any level.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E2.10 Use effective strategies to find words meanings & check spelling e.g. simple dictionary, spell-checker
FE E3.8 Read correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
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 L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
Context
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism