This is an informative lesson resource using the imminent launch of the new £1 as a basis for writing a formal report. It will be appropriate for Levels 1 and 2 students studying Functional Skills English, as well as older GCSE English students. There is a sheet with tips on writing a report, a page illustrating and explaining the layout (based on information in WJEC Functional English Level 2 Student Book by Stuart Sage, Michael Ross, and Natalie Simpson ) 2 pdf files concerning the launch from the Royal Mint website (www.thenewpoundcoin.com) and 4 versions of the writing task. Each version of the writing task, 'New Quid on the Block', is slightly different in design based on whether you want to include coverage of direct and indirect speech and planning and drafting their work.

A simple and easy to use set of templates to give to any level of students studying English language or Functional Skills, English. The templates are self-explanatory and useful to keep as a reminder for what to include and what goes where.

A selection of picture-based hand-outs which can be used for either revision or an introduction to types of language and rhetoric such as tone and style, opinion and bias, exaggeration and inference. The sheets compare the ways in which layout and presentation can direct the marketing product to catch the attention of specific demographics. The presentation also warns of the impact of grammatical errors and poor punctuation by highlighting real-life examples displayed in advertisements of houses by various estate agents. There is an exercise in reading between the lines which asks the students to interpret common examples of estate agent language together with suggested answers. Suitable for older students studying GCSE English or adults on the Level 1/2 Functional Skills English courses.

This is another activity based on the "Grass Roots" news article. Students are required to write a formal report for their manager (of the local council office where they work) regarding the planting of saplings on a community football pitch. I have included a link to the original news report, a transcript of the text in case you are unable to access the link, a worksheet explaining the task required and an optional help sheet. The help sheet prompts the student to think about purpose, audience and format and gives the layout for a formal report to use for differentiation purposes. This resource will be useful for mature students studying Functional Skills, English Levels 1 and 2 as well as school students studying for their GCSE English.

This is another activity based on the "Grass Roots" news article. Students are required to write a formal letter of complaint to their local council regarding the planting of dozens of saplings on a community football pitch. I have included a link to the original news report, a transcript of the text in case you are unable to access the link, a worksheet explaining the task required and an optional help sheet. The help sheet prompts the student to think about purpose, audience and format and gives the layout for a formal letter for differentiation purposes. This resource will be useful for mature students studying Functional Skills, English Levels 1 and 2 as well as school students studying for their GCSE English

This is a reading comprehension activity which is based on a humorous, real-life event, reported by two different news sources. The question sheet requires students to compare the articles as well as answer questions based on their content and a full answer sheet is included. There are links to both online news sources and for those who are unable to access the sites I have also printed transcripts of the texts. This resource is aimed at mature students studying Levels 1 and 2 Functional Skills English together with school students taking their English GCSE course. It can be used as a starter or plenary activity, a recap exercise or as a more extended activity where it is the basis for looking at typical exam questions which might be encountered at this level.

This is a topical worksheet using a financial advert as the source material. Adult students studying persuasive devices within Functional Skills English, Levels 1 and 2, as well as older school students studying GCSE English will be able to find examples of various rhetorical devices within a real-life email. It is a simple but comprehensive worksheet with answers included as well as the emailed investment advert.

This resource should take a few hours to deliver and has a mix of reading comprehension, speaking and listening (discussion points), embedded maths and a grammar session on adjectives and comparatives. The topic is the imminent launch of the new £1 coin. I have tried this lesson out on my ESOL class with good results although it would fit school children and entry level FS English learners equally. Some aspects could be missed out or built upon, depending on the group of students. I started off the lesson with a discussion on the coins used in the different countries of the students and we talked about the value of each currency against the £1. Using the first resource sheet, New Quid on the Block, we then talked about the prevalence of counterfeit money which led into the launch of the new coin. Information for the paired activity can be found on the business leaflet. The 'New Quid on the Block' question sheet is based on the Royal Mint advert. There is also an information sheet listing interesting facts on coins which has been produced by the Royal Mint. I have included a sheet entitled 'Changing Dimensions' which introduces the grammar session on adjectives and comparatives. Finally, the word search could be used as the plenary.

This is a multiple-choice quiz set at three levels. Each page has a colourful picture of an iconic sight in Great Britain. There are more questions included as the difficulty level increases, starting at 12 for the easy level, 18 for the harder quiz and the hardest version containing 24 questions. Each set has a full set of answers. Questions range from, How many countries are in Great Britain? to, Where are British monarchs crowned? This resource would be useful to use in lessons for ESOL as well a large range of school ages and incorporates British Values into the lesson. It can be added to my other resource about living in the UK which has lots of different facts, images and activities.

Terrifically time-saving and colourful, originally designed for an adult ESOL lesson on Living in the UK, this group of resources could also be used throughout the school. It contains lots of information and activities based on the history of the current flag and the differences between the individual countries, Great Britain, the UK and the Commonwealth. I have also included a page showing the flags of the Commonwealth nations as well as a list of the member countries together with the dates they joined. There are lots of kinaesthetic activities using the pictures and these could also be put together as an engaging wall display centred around the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Suitable for use with adult ESOL or Entry Level English students as well as KS2 schools. The resources provide up-to-date information regarding the Royal Mint’s ‘Great British Coin Hunt’ launch and activities based around the 26 new ten pence pieces, embedding British Values. There are opportunities for reading aloud in turn, dictionary practice, and vocabulary building. Also enclosed is a card-matching activity where pictures of the new coins are matched with the appropriate rhymes. Simply print out sets of the coins and rhymes sheets, laminating if desired, cut them into individual boxes, and give a set of both pictures and texts to the students to pair up, either individually or in pairs. The various activities cover aspects of the Adult Literacy Core Curriculum including Rt/E2-3, Wt/E2-E3.2, Rs/E2-E3, Ws/E2, Rw/E2.4,5-Rw/E3 and Ww/E2-3. Please note - Some documents change formatting when I upload them to the site. If they are not set out correctly when you download, you will probably just need to change the page layout margins to narrow. Any problems, just let me know and I can email them direct to you.

This light-hearted activity uses a popular song (for those of us old enough to remember the glory days of Supertramp!) to read or sing along to while spotting the adjectives and adverbs within its lyrics. Students watch the video, read the lyrics and then highlight the adjectives, and if required, the adverbs too. The answers are supplied on a separate sheet. You could use the same resource for verbs, nouns, etc., as required.

These resources can be used as quick and simple activities for more able or older students or can be used as part of a complete ESOL session on the topic of social media. (I found my adult ESOL classes took 2 x 2.50 hour sessions to complete the activities along with discussions.) There is a starter activity (Social Media Countdown where the students make as many words as possible from the title letters), which can be followed by the crossword (with or without a word bank for differentiation). The crossword provides the word bank for the gap-fill 'Social Media apps' unit of work which is an overview of various sites. The SM Vocabulary Word-search includes a section to put the verbs and nouns into boxes. The LinkedIn sheet prompts dictionary work and discussion. Finally, there are some colourful clip art pages to read and discuss.