This is an Entry Level 2 Functional Skills English reading resource. It consists of 3 non-fiction reading texts with comprehension questions. The first text gives advice on how to decorate a Christmas tree, the second is an advertisement for a Christmas sale in a shop and the third is an informative text about Christmas dinner around the world. These texts can be used as class activities, exam revision or as homework. Please look for our other Functional Skills Christmas resources.

This is an Entry Level 1 Functional Skills reading activity related to Christmas. It consists of 3 reading texts with comprehension questions. The first text gives advice on how to make Christmas dinner. The second text is an advertisement for Santa’s grotto. The final text is a kid’s demanding letter to Santa The texts and questions are used to help the students improve their Functional Skills reading. It can be used as a class whole lesson activity, homework and is ideal for exam revision.

This resource consists of a Functional Skills Level 1 reading text with comprehension questions. The text is an article which discusses the question of whether Christmas is too commercialised or not. It presents different viewpoints on the issue and the writer’s 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 Christmas 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 an Entry Level 3 Functional Skills reading activity consisting of two texts with questions. The first text gives advice on buying Christmas presents for the one you love. It gives tips on how to do this successfully and what you should not do. This text could also be used to generate a class discussion. The second text gives advice on decorating your home at Christmas. The texts and questions are used to help the pupils improve their Functional Skills reading while at the same time being engaged with the themes that they deal with.

This includes a Level 1 Functional Skills English reading resource. Pupils are asked to read a text discussing whether we should celebrate Guy Fawkes Night or not. The writer discusses both sides of the debate and then concludes with their opinion on how we should change the way it is celebrated in modern times. Pupils could research this topic before or after reading the text, looking into the gunpowder plot and the history of how Guy Fawkes Night has been celebrated. After reading, the pupils have to complete a comprehension exercise and they are also asked for their opinion on the topic. The reading leads to a Level 1 Functional Skills speaking and listening exercise where pupils debate whether we should celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, stop celebrating it or continue to celebrate it, but change the way that we do it. The group must come to a conclusion at the end if the discussion, taking everyone’s views into account. The speaking and listening resource included is for staff to use as an assessment tool. There is a checklist of skills used to chart pupil progress both as a group and individually. This is a quick and easy way to assess pupils in their Functional Skills speaking and listening and it provides clear evidence in pupils’ books or folders.

This resource consists of two Entry Level 2 Functional Skills writing activities related to Halloween. The first asks pupils to complete an application form, asking for permission to use a chosen venue for a Halloween party. The second asks them to write to a friend to invite them to a Halloween party. The tasks can be used as exam revision or as stand-alone activities during Halloween. Please check out our other Functional Skills English Halloween materials. This includes reading, writing and speaking + listening resources for ranging from Functional Skills Entry Level 1 to Level 1.

This is an Entry Level 1 functional skills reading activity consisting of two texts with questions. The first text gives advice on how to be a witch and the second explains how to dress-up for Halloween. The texts and questions are used to help the pupils improve their functional skills reading while at the same time being engaged with the themes that they deal with.

This is an Entry Level 2 Functional Skills English reading resource. It consists of 3 non-fiction reading texts with comprehension questions. The first text gives advice on how to safely make a bonfire, the second is an advertisement for a Guy Fawkes fireworks display and the third is an informative text about different ‘fire’ celebrations around the world. These texts can be used as class activities, exam revision or as homework. Please look at our other Functional Skills Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes resources.

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.

This is an Entry Level 3 Functional Skills reading activity consisting of two texts with questions. The first text gives advice on how to know if there is a ghost in your house or if it is just your imagination. The second text explains how to kill a vampire, contrary to what you have heard in stories. The texts and questions are used to help the pupils improve their functional skills reading while at the same time being engaged with the themes that they deal with.

This is an Entry Level 3 Functional Skills reading activity consisting of two texts with questions. The first text is a discursive text that discusses whether Guy Fawkes was a hero or a villain. Both sides of the debate are discussed with the pupils being asked for their opinion after reading the text. The class could study the Gunpowder plot further either before or after reading the text. This text could also be used to generate a class discussion. The second text is an informative text that explains how to put on a great fireworks display. The texts and questions are used to help the pupils improve their functional skills reading while at the same time being engaged with the themes that they deal with. The first text could also be used in history lessons.

This is an Entry Level 1 functional skills reading activity consisting of two texts with questions. The first text gives advice on how to make a bonfire. The second text is an advertisement for a Guy Fawkes Bonfire. The texts and questions are used to help the pupils improve their functional skills reading while at the same time being engaged with the themes that they deal with.

This resource consists of a revision exercise for a Functional Skills Level 1 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 Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes, 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. This task is a formal discussion about whether late October/Early November is a good time for the people of the UK or not. It asks pupils to research Guy Fawkes Night, Halloween and Mischief Night, looking at why people do and don’t celebrate them, why some people love them and why some people do not enjoy these festivals at all. Please look at our other Functional Skills Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes resources ranging from Entry Level 1 to Level 1 and including reading, writing and speaking and listening activities.

A selection of fiction and non-fiction reading questions that will fit any text or book. The answers can be written by the pupils or the questions can be asked verbally by any other person. This could be teaching, support staff or other pupils in lessons or parents/carers at home. These questions mean that any book can be used as a teaching resource or an assessment tool and that you no longer have to find or prepare activities to fit such a wide variety of texts. Since you can select any text you wish, you can choose books that fit both the pupils reading level and their interests. Each question has four stages of difficulty so this can also be used as an assessment tool.

This is a Functional Skills English writing resource for Entry Level 2. It contains five different writing tasks. In the first task students are asked to complete an application form for a job in Santa’s grotto. In the second task they are to write an advert to inform people about a charity Christmas dinner that they are hosting. In the third activity they write a letter to a friend to tell them about a Christmas party that they went to. In the fourth activity students are asked to complete an online order from so that they can buy a present that they have chosen. In the final activity students review a product online that they have bought for Christmas. This resource improves pupils Functional Skills writing skills and prepares them for exams. It can be used as a series of stand alone activities to be performed in class, as extension activities or as homework.

This is a Functional Skills English writing resource for Entry Level 3 and/or Level 1. It can be used for both levels as the tasks are suitable for either of them. The student's writing is differentiated by outcome, but Level 1 pupils should be told to write between 300 and 350 words for each task. It contains four different writing tasks. In the first task students are asked to write an advert to inform people about a charity Christmas dinner that they are hosting. In the second activity they write an informative text for pupils in a school about a celebration (Christmas). In the third activity students have to write to friends and family to ask them for sponsorship as they try to raise money for charity by doing a Santa Dash race. In the final activity they write a letter to a friend about an interesting Christmas party that they went to. Each writing task comes with a set of instructions for the student to follow. This resource improves pupils Functional Skills writing skills and prepares them for exams. It can be used as a series of stand alone activities to be performed in class, as extension activities or as homework.

This is a Functional Skills English writing resource for Entry Level 1. It contains four different writing tasks. In the first task students are asked to complete an online form for a Christmas tree that they wish to buy. In the second task they are to write an invitation for a Christmas party that they are hosting. In the third activity they write to a friend to ask them to join them for Christmas dinner. In the final activity students are asked to write an advert for a bike that they are selling so they can get some more money to buy Christmas presents. This resource improves pupils Functional Skills writing skills and prepares them for exams. It can be used as a series of stand alone activities to be performed in class, as extension activities or as homework.

This resource consists of a literary text about life in the trenches and a soldier charging into no man’s land. The soldier has clearly lost his mind and appears to welcome death. However, during the charge his desire to live returns and this is reflected in the way the text is written. There are 4 different types of reading questions/activities for this text. The first asks the pupils to find five things mentioned in the text that show that life was hard for soldiers in the trenches. The second asks pupils to explain what part of the narrator the writer wants the reader to think was left in no man’s land when he first charged there (his mind). This is a 5 point question. The third activity gives the pupils a passage from the text and asks them to find 4 literary techniques used by the writer and to give an example of these techniques that they find in the passage. 8 points are offered for this activity, 1 for each literary technique and 1 for correct examples of these techniques found in the passage. The final question is for 10 points. It states, “The writer successfully changes both the atmosphere of the text and the main character’s mind-set in this passage.” It then asks the pupil how much they agree with this statement. They are to refer to the language used in the text and the literary techniques used by the writer in their answer.

This resource consists of three Entry Level 2 Functional Skills reading texts with questions related to Halloween. The first text gives advice on how to catch a ghost, the second is an advertisement for The Monster’s Club and the third presents information about Halloween-like traditions around the world. The texts can be used as revision tests or as stand-alone activities which can incorporate speaking and listening activities and possible research tasks. Please check out our other Functional Skills English Halloween materials. This includes reading, writing and speaking + listening resources for ranging from Functional Skills Entry Level 1 to Level 1.

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.