Revision for level 1 functional skills with some progression towards GCSE. It has extension activities, a planning sheet and a self assessment table - the lesson has been designed to last about an hour and a half and encourages the students to write a target at the end. I’m using it for some final prep for a level 1 group where some are about to sit their writing and others their reading.

Activities designed to help students get full marks for technical accuracy showing them what they have to do in the minimal amount of writing.

A lesson on report writing that can be used for both E3 and Level 1 level learners. Spelling rules E3 - 'ce’ vs ‘se’ LV1 - ‘cious’ or ‘tious’ I then go over how to structure and write a report. I have written a sample answer from a question I wrote and then gave the students a sample question to have a go of as well. I’ve included a video explanation of the how to write a report and a quick run through of my answer, so it can be used for homework or remote learning. I haven’t turned it into a PDF because I wanted to give you the option of editing and adapting this as you see fit but I hope it helps. At the end of the resource I’ve included a table with the idea in mind that students will start to recored the different features of different texts.

I made a reading test for students to practice their skills. I wrote my own texts and based the questions of the new post 2019 Edexcel reform of the level 2 functional skills. The texts are in an editable word document, I put the questions and answers on a power point but I also included a copy of the questions on a word document. 15 questions in total same as the exam students are expected to spend 75 minutes on this, same as the exam. All resources are fully editable so if there’s anything you don’t like it can be fixed easily but I tried to represent every question that the students may face in the exam.

Level 1 functional skills lesson that suits the new specification, can also be taught to lower levels if paced out. Starter - Write a different sentence to match a specific purpose. 10 Minutes Recap - skimming and scanning activity - 10 Minutes Parts of the exam explained Purpose and auidence mini text and questions - 15 Minutes Proofreading activity - 10 Minutes Developing your answers and how to start Plenary - quiz to test learning so far. Hour and a half in total. Second lesson (included) Starter - expressing your opinion on three statements - 10 to 15 minutes (dependent on discussions) Recap - match up of purposes - 5 Minutes Plurals and then SPaG activity - 10 Minutes Comprehension activity based on fortnight - 15 minutes How to write an article Choice between two articles to write - 15-20 Minutes Plenary - Age ratings discussion on computer games.

Exam question Practice A resource designed for higher level GCSE English Language students, looks at using techniques in their writing and works on developing students work so that it achieves marks for compelling and convincing communication. should last about 40 minutes

The first page goes through the terms of narrative structure. Task 1: Looking at the narrative structure students explain which should be the most exciting part. Task 2: look at a basic plot and see if they can show where it occurs in terms of narrative structure. Investigating and using Suspense techniques. Task 3: students do a basic plan using the narrative structure model (sample answer shown first) this is aimed at encouraging the use of flashback. Task 4: students write a couple of paragraphs of their story, experimenting with structure and there is a peer/self marking table for the students to complete. Photo by Sara Aho on Unsplash

A bundle with a resource and power point slides dealing with the assessment objectives of level 2 functional skills English, topics covered are: Purpose of text Reading between the lines. Understanding the writer. Spotting different types of text. Spotting layout techniques. Spotting language techniques. Identifying tone and style. Each activity has an extension task and an answer sheet. All resources are editable to change if you wish. Ideal for home learning. Could be of a great help to native English speakers currently in year 6, great for home learning.

A lesson based on the theme of being more thoughtful with Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar speech. The lesson shows students what the exam will be like as well as gets them to write a sample answer for question 5 paper 2 and looks at language analysis. I could not include the text because of copyright but here is a link that will provide it: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/10/joaquin-phoenixs-oscars-speech-in-full

I made a question 4 paper 2 resource on two very different viewpoints on MMA. The texts are small with a lot of different techniques to write about. There is also a tick box of all the necessary things that I believe you must have in a question 5 answer. We are always told ‘quality over quantity’ so I produced five things that students can mark themselves against as they write. Either use it as self assessment or as a planning tool. There is also a sheet on identifying the specific effect of language techniques. All three took my class over an hour to complete I have used it for revision or last minuet practice before exams. Photo by Davide Cantelli on Unsplash

A 19 page booklet looking at developing student’s skills in order to achieve higher marks in the AQA GCSE English paper 2 exam. This booklet looks at the major skills reuired to pass the exam and the questions they relate to. Contents: Identifying language techniques Inference Language analysis Expressing your own opinion All sections come with model answers. The booklet should keep students occupied for many hours and help their understanidng of the exam because of its design students can complete this by themsleves and check their answers themselves for independent learning. This was designed from a few problem areas and my students actually asked me to make this for them to get rid of the common difficulties they face in paper 2.

A resource that can be used as a tutor time activity, assembly or an English lesson. Includes: A reading comprehension that I wrote, that is fully editable to suit the needs of your students, of a short scary story. The origins of Halloween - this goes into why people trick or treat, the story behind Jack O ’ lanterns and the historical and religious significance of the celebration. Youtube video and slide explaining. A short quiz on Halloween.

A functional skills lesson on the theme on employability, looks at common work terminology for British employment, it has a reading and a writing task to suit writing a cover letter and understanding a person specification. Discussion opportunities throughout the text its a really good opportunity to talk to students about work. Tasks on connectives and complex and simple sentences included. Should last around 1 hour 40 mins depending on class ability.

A series of slides with really small sample paragraphs that have particular techniques in them for the students to spot. The resource has been designed to show students how to answer question 4 of paper 1 of AQA GCSE English language paper 1. Students read only a few lines on the powerpoint and are given five mins to spot the techniques, they are then asked if they agree, partially agree or disagree, they are then asked to explain themselves in relation to the question making reference to the text and basing their answers on the technique they have found. I did this because it is very very simple and it shows just how easy question four can be. This has been designed for students new to this question who need to practice finding the techniques and knowing how to actually answer this question. I used it for a thirty minuet revision session before my students sat a mock and for individual tutorial sessions.

A lesson on AO1 based on Coventry. The lesson looks at AO1 with skill building for question 5, it introduces the use of techniques, lesson should last around an hour and a half. Techniques: Metaphors, Similes, Personification, Group of 3, Powerful Adjectives and Sensory Language. A good introduction for Creative writing.

These are some mini texts I wrote along with a few comprehension questions I’ve used it for E3-L1 functional skills lessons. The texts are about credit score (to give an idea of the things a student needs to know about the future) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (there’s a lot of videos online about conflict avoidance this) and one jokey text about bad ways to break up with someone.

A worksheet where students can practice identifying sources and then writing their own senses to images, video and powerpoint included so can be used as home learning.