Reading and Vocabulary
Weekly outline
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This course will cover the key reading skills you will need to learn for your Functional Skills qualification. These include:
- reading and analysing texts in detail
- identifying purpose, audience and tone of texts
- summarising skills
- identifying and analysing language techniques
- comparing and contrasting texts
You will only succeed on this course if you:
- speak English outside of class as well as inside.
- read advanced English texts at home e.g. books, newspapers
- watch/listen to English programmes on TV/radio
- are interested in what's going on around you in your local area
- take note of the issues that are being talked about in the news and in your community
- reading and analysing texts in detail
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On this page you will find a link to BKSB to work on your modules.
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To complete your diagnostic assessment
- Right click on the link https://islingtonacl.bksblive2.co.uk and select Open in new window.
- Enter your username (contact Julie if you have forgotten it)
- Enter your password (usually password or Password1)
- Click on Focus Functional Skills
- Go to English (Reforms) and click on Continue to complete your diagnostic assessment
- Please note you will also have access to English (Legacy) and GCSE Achieve for further work.
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These resources are for:
- recognising the different purposes of text
- identifying the tone and style of different pieces of writing
- recognising different types of text
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BBC Skillswise (www.bbc.co.uk/teach/skillswise) - has some excellent resources. This folder contains a selection of handouts about different types of text.
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In this folder you will find several examples of real text, known as realia, and an activity to complete.
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In this section you will learn how to use different techniques for picking out the main points in a text, including using layout features.
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Use this handout to find out more about why layout features are used. In your reading exam you will need to be able to explain features and the effect they have.
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This folder contains a PowerPoint presentation showing different types of text. Complete the features of text activity alongside it to identify what makes each type of text unique. The completed activity will be useful as a revision sheet.
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In this section we will be looking at how you can understand a text in detail and how to go about summarising it.
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See the handouts for information and activities to practise skimming and scanning.
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Read the handout to get tips about how to identify key words in document. Use those skills to identify the key points in the text about Vincent Van Gogh. Don't read the marked copy until you have done the activity yourself.
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These activities will help you to read and understand a whole text using all the reading skills you have learned. Complete the activities in the Understanding a text L2 2017 document to help you to read and understand the Healthy Drinking text.
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In this section you can learn how to compare and contrast different texts. You will be able to identify different points and opinions.
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This handout lists signal words to look out for when comparing and contrasting in texts.
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Read the text on Canada v the United States and use the blank Venn diagram to identify what is the same about them (compare) and what is different about them (contrast)
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First try the activity to see if you can identify facts and opinions. Are there any that you aren't sure about?
Then read the handouts. Make sure you understand what is a fact and what is an opinion. Have a look at the language clues to help you work it out.
Go back and look at the activity to see if you change your mind on any of your answers.
Finally read the Agony Aunt text and identify 3 facts and 3 opinions.
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There are three documents in this folder.
1. Read the handout Bias and do task B
2. Look at the handout Fact, Opinion and Bias. Notice how similar points can be written as a fact, an opinion or a biased statement. Notice the language of the biased statements and look out for words such as all, best, never. Often sweeping statements are made in inflammatory language - look out for stupid, up to the job. Extreme bias can lead to racist, sexist or other discriminatory statements.
3. Complete the Fact, Opinion and Bias activity by creating statements of your own.
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In this section, you will learn about inferred meaning. That is, when the writer implies something, rather than saying it explicitly.
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This listening activity practises understanding implied meaning. Listen carefully to the context of the person speaking and choose the right option.
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In this section you will find resources to help you understand the language techniques that writers use. They often use them to be persuasive or for creative purposes.
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Read the handout on persuasive language techniques. Then look at the text examples and identify which techniques have been used. Finally use the techniques you have learned to create an advert to promote on of the items in the Items to sell file.
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Have a go at this activity to check your understanding of some idioms and use them correctly.
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Want to know the difference between similes and metaphors? Click the link to find out in a lighthearted way.
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Here are the resources and activities from a lesson dedicated to idioms, similes and metaphors.
1. Handout outlining what idioms, similes and metaphors are (difference between .... handout)
2. Use learn-English-today.com to look up some idioms to do with the body (idioms to do with the body)
3. Have a look at the poetry to identify metaphors and some similes (A Simile Like Love and Poems)
4. Finally, write your our own similes and metaphors. Choose a picture and try and think of lots of descriptive words. You can then create similes using the descriptive words. Finally describe the object in your picture using a metaphor. An example using ice-cream is the first picture in the similes exercise document.
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Use these links to find worksheets and activities to help you to develop your vocabulary.
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Here is a link to the City and Guilds website for you to download and practise some reading exams. Please note: you do not seem to be able to save them on your own computer. You will either need to print them out or read the questions online and write down your answers on your own piece of paper.