Recent Changes

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April Fools' Day L1-L2 reading tasks

Corrections  (May 15, 2025 8.32pm) Apostrophe error in title fixed on all 6 pages.  (May 15 2.30pm) Bonus question 25 part c: the answer has 7 letters - not 8. Apologies!

Level
Level 1
Level 2
English
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
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 L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
Functional English reading
FE L1.15 Infer from images meanings not explicit in the accompanying text
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L2.13 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 L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
Context
History, culture, museums, libraries
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism

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London Marathon resources - 2025

25 April 2025

This year the London Marathon is on Sunday April 27. Follow this tag to find London Marathon Functional Skills maths and English resources (2 resources). 

 

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Summer Solstice resources - 2025

11 June 2025

This year the summer solstice is on June 21. Follow this tag to find two Summer Solstice resources.
Resources cover English from E3 (Entry Level 3) to L2 (Level 2).

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Summer Solstice 2025

An updated version of Laura Bell's 2017 Solstice resource (also uses information from British Heritage), this topical resource is bound to be popular. It includes an introductory PPT (with a final differentiated article-writing task and an informative video link) along with a PDF set of reading tasks

Editor's notes

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
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 L1.13 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 L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE E3.16 Use 1st, 2nd & 3rd letters to sequence words alphabetically
FE E3.19 Write text of appropriate length & level of detail
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 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
Context
History, culture, museums, libraries
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism
Faith & Religion

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Summer word fun

A beautiful set of 5 games and activities at text, sentence and word level. Includes word fill, word search, cloze exercise and more. Ideal for end of term lesson (or the beginning of the autumn term when holidays are being discussed) with answer sheets and teaching ideas.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 1
English
General literacy / English
ESOL
General ESOL

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Spring Festivals / the Equinox

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.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
Maths
FM E1.7 Know the number of days in a week, months, & seasons in a year. Name & sequence them.
FM E2.7 Know the number of hours in a day and weeks in a year.
FM E3.4 Multiply 2-digit numbers by 1- & 2-digit numbers
ESOL
General ESOL
General
Generic resources for literacy, numeracy and beyond
Context
Faith & Religion

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Summer Solstice reading & writing tasks

A topical summer solstice resource. A bit of reading comprehension based on a general article about the solstice which includes some embedded maths. This is followed by another short article with further comprehension questions and two associated writing tasks: one at L1/L2 and one at E3 (the latter a bit wacky!).

Level
Level 2
Level 1
Entry Level 3
English
Functional English - writing
Functional English reading

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Religious and cultural festivals - active listening game

Step by step instructions for an excellent paired activity. Also provides useful practice for formal speaking and listening assessments.

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
SLlr/E3.2
SLlr/E3.6
SLc/E3.4
SLc/E3.3
ESOL
ESOL Listen and respond (Lr)

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Spring Festivals from different cultures and faiths

Spring Festivals – Entry 3 comprehension questions (also includes alphabetical ordering and dictionary work) based on a short text about spring festivals from different cultures and faiths. The short text is part of the Easter Eggs – best buy? resource (below) which you will also have to download

Level
Entry Level 3
English
AL Rt/E3.1 Understand longer texts
Rt/E3.7
Rt/E3.8
Rw/E3.4
Rw/E3.3

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Autumn Festivals from different cultures and faiths

Autumn Festivals – Entry 3 comprehension questions (also includes alphabetical ordering and dictionary work) based on a short text about autumn festivals from different cultures and faiths. The short text is from the Autumn Apple Cake resource (see below) which you will also have to download.

Level
Entry Level 3
English
AL Rt/E3.1 Understand longer texts
Rt/E3.7
Rt/E3.8
Rw/E3.4
Rw/E3.3