Devising your own resources

Topic ideas

The great thing about devising your own resources for Functional Skills is that, to start with, you can devise resources that you know will appeal to your learners. For example, I recently prepared some great motivational maths resources for a set of boys who are mad about motorsports.

Of course, once you get to Levels 1 and 2 students will need to demonstrate that they can cope with topics with which they are less familiar. But if you have prepared them using resources that they really relate to in the first place, the task of building, applying and mastering Functional Skills will become a good deal easier.

This list of topic suggestions is just a starting point. With simplification (see below) you could use resources based on these topics across the three subject areas of English, Mathematics and ICT, as well as across the levels from Entry Level to Level 2.

• Applying for a job
• Budgeting – running a home
• Choosing a mobile phone
• Climate change
• Cooking a meal
• Cost of running a car or bike
• Current affairs
• DIY
• Energy efficiency
• Food safety
• Getting a loan
• Going on holiday
• Learning to drive
• Online/computer games
• Organising a day out
• Organising a party
• Planning a journey
• Shopping online
• Tax and wages
• Using make-up

Resources for Maths and ICT

When your candidates take these assessments awarding bodies must ensure that the reading requirement is at least one level below the level being tested. So if you’re preparing students for Level 1 maths for example, the reading content of any resources you use should be at Entry Level 3 or below.

Resources for Entry Levels

Source materials for Entry Levels must be as equally authentic as for Levels 1 and 2. The problem is that few printed materials will be at these levels and you will need to use real-life materials but simplify them accordingly.

Unless you know where to look, it can be difficult to know where to start with simplification. I refer to a really useful leaflet with lots of sensible ideas about how to design, write and produce printed information so that it is easier to read. The link to it is here:
http://shop.niace.org.uk/making-reading-easier.html

I suggest you use a copy of this leaflet together with the functional skills standards at your required level to devise accessible source materials for your own learners.