Adult Numeracy, Functional Maths, and GCSE Resources

An ESOL lesson embedding numeracy, diversity and British values, centred on the Spring Equinox and three festivals which happen around / on this day - Purim, Holi and Shunbun No Hi. Learners collect unfamiliar words on a vocabulary sheet and ask and answer questions to elicit meaning / explanation. There is a powerpoint to introduce the topic, using acronyms eg 7DIAW  - Seven Days In A Week to elicit key words, and lead to an explanation of what the Vernal Equinox is and when it is.

20 literacy and numeracy questions to warm up the new term! All based on the words HAPPY NEW YEAR (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 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.

I have found that many numeracy students get scared when you mention terms like percentages or fractions. I therefore developed this introductory activity for my new level 1 numeracy students. They are mostly young parents who were disengaged at school and have no mathematics qualifications.

They are usually nervous when they attend the first session so I try to boost their confidence and reassure them that the course will not be like school.

A set of posters / cards / checklists designed to prompt discussion, check learning and keep a record of student progression. Designed for Entry Level Functional Maths and English learners in an FE setting but suitable for all levels and subjects.
This resource was inspired by discussion on the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics) site about “understanding versus doing” and I would like to thank the forum members for their ideas and feedback.

A really interesting quick quiz – originally written to get e2e learners interested in numbers but makes an ideal warm up activity for any group (at any level).

Start of term quiz or diagnostic exercises (or use simply to get learners into the swing of things!) includes a wide range of questions covering number, measures and data handling.
Two versions – one for E1-E3, one for L1-2.

A fabulous set of differentiated maths quizzes that are great for revision and/or end of term. Three quizzes (E1-2, E3-L1, L2) each with four rounds: quick fire, picture (for which you will need to download the relevant PowerPoint – see beelow), true-false, and a timed or team round – depends on level. The author has even thought to include tie breaker questions.
Everything is included except the bell or squeaky toy needed for the quick fire round!

This ‘random number generator’ is an open ended resource that the author originally designed to use for mental maths (adding or taking away 10 from the displayed number). It was later used it as part of a ‘Question of Sport’ quiz (in the spelling round!): learners choose a picture and then spell the ‘random’ number that appears: 49, 32, 28, 46, 67, 55, 21, 74 and 13 (these be edited to suit and could also be linked to any set of numbered, pre-prepared quiz questions on any topic).