This is a set of three (maybe more) lessons which looks at the costs of a night out to London. It starts with students having to look at a train ticket and get the asked information from it – cost/type of ticket/time. It uses addition as students need to find out the cost of two tickets. They then use google to search times of trains. The next session looks at the cost of the theatre ticket and finding out the change you would have from a given amount again researching the theatre on the internet.
Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Maths
Functional Maths
ICT
Functional Skills ICT: Finding and selecting information
In this activity, learners have to calculate how much paint is required for a specified job, find prices from different sources and work out total prices. This can then be compared. The resource is in two versions – one with formulae for the required calculations and one without – different pages from each version can be mixed and match to meet different learners’ needs.
The activity requires internet access – however price lists could be substituted for this if this is not available in your context.
A worksheet giving details of 4 different whale watching tours (times, cost, accessibility, activities, etc.).
This is followed by 4 different scenarios, each describing a family or group. Students must choose the best tour for each group and work out the costs. As this holiday activity is in Australia, the price are in $AUD. An extra exercise could be to use the current exchange rate to work out the cost in your own currency.Includes answers.
Based on two recent articles / surveys on Black Friday shopping, the main focus of this resource is Functional Mathematics but there is also an introductory page of English questions that check vocabulary, purpose of text and the ability to extract meaning from graphical material and captions.
This is followed by three pages of challenging differentiated questions for E3-L2 Functional Maths – all are based on the infographics within the text. Topics include large numbers, percentages, fractions and the four operations.
Students regularly tell me they cannot read bus timetables and just wait for the next one to come along! This activity asks learners to find the most appropriate bus for my journey.
I print the timetables (pages 2-8) out enlarged to A3 and stick them to walls of my classroom.
Update (June 2016)
Answer sheet (and error report for one question) kindly provided by Ray Sheerin and Jay Hall, Aylesbury, Bucks, Adult Learning.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Maths
AN MSS1/L1.3 Calculate with and convert between units of time
AN MSS1/L1.2 Read & measure time and use timetables
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) is a rich source of data, charts and graphs.In particular, infographics are becoming ever more popular. They can tell complex statistical stories in an easy to grasp manner but also open doors to further mathematical interpretation and investigation.
Very topical and challenging set of tasks based on a news report about the new 5p charge for plastic carrier bags introduced in England on October 5 2015.
Questions range from Entry 3 to high Level 2 and cover dates, large numbers, bar charts, averages, interpreting data in tables, mean average and percentages. It also challenges learners’ reading and English comprehension skills. Bar chart question requires graph paper or Excel.
PPT with title slide and 3 slides and a set of suggested questions to go with it.
A further worksheet showing the number of seats for the parties for the last and new parliament with tasks for E3 to L2 learners.
Editor’s note
A great resource for prompting general discussion about elections, statistics, etc.
A topical and challenging series of differentiated questions for upper E3 to Level 2. Based on a news report about the May 2015 relief effort and a table of statistics about the world’s largest earthquakes.
