list of contents

choosing material and selecting a level

list of contents

The next section explains the headings and how they relate to NQF level, reading age and reading ease score. For personalised learning, this will enable you to match content to student more exactly.

the formalities of English

This comes at two levels. The first column begins at level 1. The second column works upwards from the start of level 2. It contains information that many people have not really understood by levels 3 and 4.

experiments, exercises, games and lesson ideas adaptable for either level T3

choosing material and selecting a level

Although classes are traditionally assigned a single NQF level, the students within them will vary. In particular, a student on a level 2 vocational course may need level 1 literacy material in the early stages. On the other hand, a few advanced students in a GCSE English class might need some level 3 input to stretch them.

Accordingly, the material in this package is not assigned an NQF level in the expectation that all students in a group will always or only need sheets from that particular column.

Some of the ideas in some of the files will not be known to all teachers; some of the skills referred to may not be commonly practised in every staffroom. It may be that level 3 sheets will be useful to some Cert Ed students or for CPD purposes.

Each file is assigned a word count, a nominal NQF level from 1-3, an average reading age, a Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score and a Flesch-Kincaid grade level. You can then match the pages to the known limitations of any individual at a given stage of development.

A full explanation of these systems is given in the pdf file Readability. Briefly, the higher the score the easier to read; the lower the grade level, the more suitable for less able readers. This is roughly how they might match:

You will find the complexities of English 'levels' explained in the pdf file Levels. There are plenty of able and even gifted students in the UK who can rise above any formal assumptions about the challenges suitable for them, but if comprehension is an issue then you might form an initial hypothesis on the following basis:

Material is usually provided at several levels. It varies not only in ease of comprehension but in the kind of challenges it talks about and the kind of difficulties or attitudes it might need to tackle. This allows you to differentiate more easily, especially if files are available on line so that students can explore more fully on their own after the class.

Part-time students, who sometimes receive little support for student skills in class, will be able to use the sheets for individual exploration and support on demand.

Level 1 is in 14pt Comic Sans with very short paragraphs, generous white space and illustrations or graphics to break up the words. Top level students may need some ideas from level 2 presented orally.

Level 2 is in 14 point Century Gothic, with fewer illustrations or graphics but still enough to break up the words. Top level students at 2 may need some of the text from Level 3.

Level 3 is in 12 point Arial with few illustrations. Top level students ought to be creating their own guides for others to read. Some university (Level 4) and Cert Ed/7407 students will find elements of level 3 useful, and it contains advice on academic standards applicable post A level.

Some of the files marked Exploratory in the Language section will stretch some GCSE English students, and perhaps even some Level 3/4 students. Those marked Introductory in the Language section are more basic, but not childish in tone.

how to order