This resource consists of a Functional Skills Level 1 reading text with comprehension questions. The text is a magazine article which discusses the question of whether Halloween is the best celebration or not. It presents different viewpoints on the issue and its own opinion. This reading text can lead to the pupils having a discussion on the same topic using our Functional Skills speaking and listening resource that presents this discussion and gives guidance for staff on how to assess the pupils. Please check out our other Functional Skills English Halloween resources that range from Entry Level 1 to Level 1. We have a range of resources for reading, writing and speaking + listening activities.

This is a Functional Skills Entry Level 2 Reading Activity. It has 3 texts with comprehension questions. ‘Zombie Alert’, ‘School Closed For Rats’ and ‘Dating Advice For Boys’. All the texts are functional, but fun.

This is a GCSE English editing activity. It contains some tasks in which pupils have to select the correct words to fit he gaps of a literature text. It also contains a proofreading task for a transactional text.

This is a reading for pleasure assembly best used to promote reading in your school.

This resource contains a selection of activities to be used after teaching the 1st Chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful’. It contains comprehension tasks, tasks where pupils are asked their opinion and task which asks pupils to write an imaginative response to the novel.

This is a Functional Skills Entry Level 2 English writing resource. There are two writing tasks. In the first task, the students have to apply for permission to hold a firework display. In the second task, they have to write an article for a newspaper informing the public about a Bonfire Night that they are holding. These resources can be used as a stand-alone exam revision exercise or in a series of lessons involving Guy Fawkes Night or other celebrations. Before writing, the pupils may benefit from researching different types of fireworks and how to make the displays safe.

There two resources are to help pupils to learn the skill of picking out different literary techniques in a text and then to build an understanding of why the writer has used them. The first resource asks pupils to make a list of different literary techniques that they can find in a text and to note down the example(s) of this that they have highlighted. After the pupils have practiced this skill they can attempt the 2nd activity. in this, pupils are again asked to pick out different literary techniques used, but also to explain why the writer has used the examples they have highlighted of these techniques. These resources are designed so that they can be used with any text. This means that you can use them again and again. Furthermore, it gives pupils some independence by allowing them to choose their own passages in texts to use with these resources and they can therefore be a good homework activity.

This resource consists of a revision exercise for a Functional Skills Entry Level 2 assessment. It is for staff use, providing a topic for a discussion and a checklist to assess whether pupils have passed the test or not. Although this assessment follows the theme of Halloween, it can easily be edited for any topic and used multiple times. There are two pages for this resource, one for teachers to assess multiple pupils and one for assessing one pupil which can be placed in this pupil’s file. Please look at our other Functional Skills Halloween resources ranging from Entry Level 1 to Level 1 and including reading, writing and speaking and listening activities.

This resource contains two functional skills writing activities with instructions for the pupils to follow. The tasks could be used for either Entry Level 3 or Level 1 with the pupils’ outcome determining their level. You could ask the pupils to plan their work before writing if you wish. The first text asks pupils to write a letter applying for permission to use the Spooktacular Ballroom as the venue for a Halloween Party that they are hosting. In the second task, pupils become magazine writers. They are asked to review a Halloween party that they have attended for their magazine. We at Engage Education believe in making functional fun. Please check out our other Functional Skills English resources.

This text has been specifically designed for pupils to use when learning how to pick out literary techniques used by writers and for them to explain why the writer has used these examples that they have picked out. The text is about a person entering a haunted house. It is best used with our other resources on Writer’s Techniques which are also available on this site.

This is a presentation on the history of Liverpool and the slave trade.

This lesson is best taught after the pupils have read or listened to the second chapter of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. The main activities in this lesson are centered on the question of whether farmers should be allowed to kill foxes or not. The main production activities are a class discussion on this question and a writing activity where the pupils write a formal letter to the council giving their own opinion and asking for the council to act. There are structured writing plans for the pupils to complete, one that argues for farmers killing foxes and one that argues against it. These writing plans are differentiated, with different versions to accommodate more and less able pupils. There is also an extension activity for pupils who finish before others in the class, which is called ‘The Angry Farmer Conjunction Challenge!’

This is a presentation describing what happens in bullfighting in detail and leading to a discussion about bullfighting.

This resource is designed to be used with Chapter 5 of the novel Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. This chapter is titled ‘Twenty-Four Minutes Past Twelve’. The main events of this chapter include the discovery of Charlie and Molly’s secret relationship and The Colonel shooting Bertha. It contains a powerpoint presentation that is used to recap on the novel’s previous chapters, to check the pupils’ comprehension of this chapter and to generate a discussion on the different character’s thoughts and opinions on the main events of this chapter. This resource also includes some worksheets. These contain a lesson(s) plan, 2 activities and some extension work. The first activity asks pupils to write their own opinion of the events of the chapter. The second asks them to write a text describing how they think various characters feel about the chapter’s events. The extension work presents the pupils with a letter from Charlie to Molly which they have to correct and improve by adding adjectives. This resource should take at least two lessons to complete, but it could be used for more depending on how much time you allow for the discussions. The extension work could also be used as a whole class activity or as homework.

This unit contains a series of lessons for an ‘All About Me’ topic. It includes reading, writing and speaking and listening. The writing lessons are differentiated with higher level planning sheets and writing support sheets. The lessons in the unit include: Read about other people and complete a profile about them. Have a group discussion with other pupils telling them about the person you have read about and taking notes on the people they tell you about. Complete a profile about yourself. Write all about yourself. Have a group discussion telling other pupils all about you and taking notes on what they tell you about themselves. Complete an ‘All About Me’ poster.

This resource is designed to be used with Chapter 7 of the novel Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. This chapter is titled ‘Twenty-Eight Minutes Past One’. The is the final chapter set in the home village as they Peaceful boys leave for war at the end of the chapter. It is also the final chapter in which Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel play a central role so they are a focus of this lesson. This resource contains a powerpoint presentation that is used to complete a pre-reading discussion, to check the pupils’ comprehension of this chapter and to generate a discussion whether the pupils think Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel are ‘good’ characters or not. As a teacher, you can decide if you want ‘good’ to mean good in terms of their morals or if you want it to mean effective as a character. This resource also includes some worksheets. These contain a lesson(s) plan, 3 activities and some extension work. The first activity asks pupils to work in a group/pair and to discuss who are their favourite 3 characters and why. They can record their ideas on the worksheet for this activity . The second activity asks the pupils to write whether they think Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel are ‘good’ characters and give reasons for their answers. This activity follows on from the class discussion on the powerpoint presentation. This third activity is an extended writing task which asks the pupils to write a character description of Molly, Mother Peaceful or The Colonel. They are given some tips on what they could include before they write. In the extension activity, pupils are given 10 actions that characters in the novel have done so far. They are asked to use a thesaurus to find suitable adverbs to describe how the characters do these actions. This resource should take at least two lessons to complete, but it could be used for more depending on how much time you allow for the discussions. The extension work could also be used as a whole class activity or as homework. Please look at our other Private Peaceful lessons in this series.

This lesson is to be taught with Chapter 8 ‘Fourteen Minutes Past Two’ of Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. There is a series of worksheets and a powerpoint presentation to be used during the lesson. The presentation is used to help organise the lesson structure and to provide visuals to help check pupils’ understanding of the text and to generate ideas for their oracy and their writing. This resource is normally used for between two and three hours of teaching. The activities of the lesson are: • Listen to/read the 8th chapter of the novel. • Check your comprehension of the story by describing what happened using the images on the lesson powerpoint. • Group Discussion: What makes a character effective in a story? • Lesson Activity: Write A Character Report On Charlie Peaceful Complete a writing plan for your report on Charlie Peaceful. Write your report on Charlie Peaceful. • Extension Work: • Were Charlie’s Actions Right Or Wrong? Write down as many reasons as you can for why Charlie’s action were right and wrong. Plenary: Class Discussion Class debate on whether Charlie was right or wrong to act the way he did. Please look at our other Private Peaceful lessons.