An introduction to functional skills

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An introduction to functional skills embedding
them across the curriculum
New ways of working

• New qualifications

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What are Functional Skills? Why are they being
introduced?

• Defining functional skills

• Functional skills are core elements of English,
  mathematics and ICT that provide an individual
  with essential knowledge, skills and
  understanding that will enable them to operate
  confidently, effectively and independently in
  life and work.
• Employers and educators have identified these
  skills as vital for enabling young people and
  adults to succeed in further learning, work and
  life in modern society.

The key is to emphasise the INDEPENDENT APPLIED
use of ENG/ICT/MATHS
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• What are functional skills qualifications?

• Functional skills qualifications in English,
  mathematics and ICT are available at Entry 1,
  Entry 2 and Entry 3, level 1 and level 2.
• The skills criteria for functional skills
  qualifications specify assessment outcomes for
  qualifications at each level in terms of skill
  standards, coverage and range.
• Each of the three skills has a set of performance
  standards based on three key areas. For example
• English
• Speaking and listening
• Reading
• Writing

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Functional Skills will become the CENTREPIECE of
the secondary jigsaw and the glue in 14-19
education
Content of functional skills
...in line with the demands of
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Functional Skills The aims

• Functional skills are the skills in English,
  Maths and ICT which enable people to
• Apply understanding to everyday life
• Engage competently and confidently with others
• Solve problems in familiar and unfamiliar
  situations
• Develop personally and professionally as
  positive citizens
• It is a compulsory component of the Diploma and
  Foundation Learning tier.
• It is going to be a key indicator for school
  achievement in the future
• It is built into the Maths English ICT GCSEs
  but will also be examined separately.

Worcester - FS Resources
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The upshot of todays training
Roll out Yr 7 project in 2010/11 e.g. HWK
project/focus week etc Include ELEMENTS of
E/M/I ID opportunities by end of term Highlight
in SOWs DISCRETE!
Functional Skills Training 18/6/10
2010/2011 Yr 7 Functional Skills Project
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From the 3 subjects, we have listed the most
easily transferable elements. This information is
a reference point for identifying opportunities
for task building.
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IDEAS MATRIX Writing For Purpose Formal Informal Speaking and Listening Reading
ENGLISH
ENTERPRISE (DT/ICT/Business)
HUMANITIES
MATHS
MFL
PE
PERFORMING ARTS (Dance/Drama/Music/Art)
PSHE
SCIENCE
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Functional English Transferable elements from
the core strands

• Present information
• Summarise information
• Compare written sources
• Respond to texts
• Implicit meaning and bias/Comprehension
• Write/Speak persuasively
• Write and follow instructions
• Design questions and interview
• Take notes
• Select appropriate texts

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Writing for Purpose

• There are several reasons why students struggle
  with writing. These include
• They were taught too early at primary school
  before fine motor skills were developed (writing
  is painful).
• They dont have enough opportunity to talk about
  what they write before writing.
• They have become dependent on writing frames.
• They dont read enough fiction and read too much
  non fiction.
• They need a purpose or audience for the writing.
• Huge amounts of writing goes unmarked.
• Ashamed of handwriting /spelling or typing
  skills.
• Seen as something females do.
• Therefore we have selected 2 of the most
  transferable strategies for all curriculum areas
  to augment students ability to write for purpose.
  They are

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The 4 Purposes of Writing
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Writing in Role

• Another way of getting into your character is
  through 'in-role' writing. Here, you write the
  thoughts and views of your character as if you
  were them.
• Writing in role allows learners to work in a
  slightly distanced way, supporting the
  development of writing in more complex modes, and
  offering student writers opportunities for
  writing from different perspectives. It gives
  students the chance to see themselves as writers
  who can control the communication format, as they
  look at the ways in which both the reader and the
  writer make meaning, combining self and other as
  they are composing.
• Examples of in-role writing include
• First-person accounts of events from characters
  in texts, movies, music, news etc.
• Petitions organized by the people regarding
  controversial issues.
• Monologues by leading or minor characters about
  issues.
• Interviews between students and
  fictional/non-fictional characters.
• Speakers making announcements, speeches, or
  proclamations.
• Writing cartoons and scripts.
• Voicing the words and thoughts of the character.
• Reporting/commentary on fictional (or real)
  events.

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Examples of Writing in Role

• PE - Usain Bolt sets new Record
• Interview for Men's Health magazine with diet and
  training tips from Usain Bolt on how to become a
  top athlete.
• Interview for Discovery Science channel about
  biomechanics and top athletic performance.
• Online blog to aspiring athletes on how to
  perform efficiently on the big stage.

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Examples of Writing in Role

• DT/ICT - IPad Launch by SteveJobs
• After some research, a keynote speech from Apple
  CEO Steve Jobs about how the Ipad will
  revolutionise peoples use of computer systems,
  its capabilities and design features.
• An editorial review for a computer magazine about
  the product design, marketing, functionality etc.
• Interview with customers who have spent the night
  queuing up to buy an Ipad at the launch. Smart
  questioning and answers could elicit better
  understanding of how sophisticated computer
  systems and clever marketing have led to
  increased demand.

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Examples of Writing in Role

• Art Banksy vs Bristol Museum
• Critique debate about the artistic prowess and
  merit of this revolutionary and contemporary form
  of street art.
• Allocate people for perspectives
• Teenager
• Local councillor
• Fine Art Magazine Editor
• Art Teacher
• OAP
• Museum Owner
• Banksy him/herself

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Examples of Writing in Role

• Hums/ English/ Business

• Fly-on-the-wall report of the dialogue between
  President Obama, Tony Hayward and Congress
  unearthing the causes, impacts and responses to
  the oil spill disaster. Secretarial notes.
• Focus on deeper understanding of concepts through
  research, questioning techniques and appropriate
  responses.

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Examples of Writing in Role

• SCIENCE
• A voyage log for the Beagle expedition to the
  Galapagos Islands highlighting/explaining key
  observations.
• A keynote lecture about the summary of his
  findings to the Royal Geographical Society.
• Time-travel interview about how his ideas
  caused a scientific sensation and religious
  backlash.

• Script the interview between Obama and Hawking
  requesting clarification about his life and work
  for which he won the US Freedom Medal in 2009.

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Examples of Writing in Role

• MFL
• Blend topical research and developing target
  language by using contemporary issues as a
  vehicle for improving writing, speaking and
  listening.
• E.g. Create the script for a news interview with
  a shoppers, farmers or local councillors. Focus
  on questioning, verbs, nouns, tense etc.

• Use song/music to familiarise vocabulary. E.g.
  Foux de fa fa Flight of the Conchords.

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Involve the Reader We/Our We all need to take
action
ARE YOUR VERBS STRONG? We demand action.
SENSES Appeal to as many as possible taste,
smell touch look sound.
TALK DIRECTLY TO THE READER Have you seen,
heard
Rhetorical Questions What would you
do? Can you imagine?
ARE YOUR ADJECTIVES STRONG? The view was
Outstanding.
Write to ARGUE, PERSUADE ADVISE
WRITING MATS
HARD EVIDENCE Use stats and data to strengthen
and justify your claims. 99 of people tell us

Rule of 3! It is an important point use 3
adjectives, NOT 1. i.e. The COOL, SLICK,
MEAN machine.
ALLITERATION Cool California is the place to go
this summer.
CATCH PHRASES More difficult but give it a
go. Big enough to make a difference but small
enough to care.
USE COMMANDS Act now to save our planet.
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Link to some suggested activities

• 20 Tips For Enhancing English Functional Skills

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Formal and Informal Speaking and Listening

• Discussion spoken exchange of information,
  ideas or opinions between two or more people in a
  formal or informal context.
• Extent of contribution and depth of thinking
  that informs their attainment.
• Includes discussion of personal perspectives and
  topics beyond their own immediate experience.
• Responding appropriately in a range of contexts
  (informal and formal).

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IDEAS

• Speed dating each person has a character card
  one minute to get to know another character in
  the room, then carousel.
• Forum Theatre Two people discuss a topic in
  front of the class (or in the middle of a circle
  of students) and the observers can stop and
  change the direction/language of the debate.
• Focussed Listening allocate specific roles that
  require them to identify an element of language
  or speech, e.g. persuasive language used,
  positive / negative arguments, emotion etc.

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IDEAS

• Taking on a role allocating specific roles
  within a given scenario (i.e. context)
• The Situation Room an imaginary or actual
  disaster (e.g. earthquake) or goal (e.g. pitch
  for the World Cup), students work in small groups
  to investigate and discuss specific element of
  the situation.

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SPEED DATING!

• You have a card and a piece of paper
• You have 3 minutes to date everyone in your group
  to find out their name without directly asking
  for it!

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Narrating a film?

• Volunteer? Or else well need to pressgang
  someone to be our victim

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• Classic Football Moment

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Some examples of practical applications

• Art Is the Turner prize really about art?
  Presentation
• Business Studies Job interview
• DT Dragons Den pitches
• Drama Role-play Paxman interview on Newsnight
• Hums Trial of Cromwell (History), Campaign
  speech (Citizenship), Pitch to acquire area
  National Park status (Geography), debate abortion
  (RE)
• ICT PowerPoint presentation
• Maths Price a kitchen and present design to
  customer explaining costs
• MFL role-play meeting with foreign exchange
  partners parents
• Music The Beatles or the Stones (debate)?
• PE Pitch for World Cup
• Science Debate on evolution / creationism

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Reading

• The key thing is for pupils to
• read as much as they can
• in as many different formats as they can.

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Varieties of texts
Instructions
Information
Description
Narrative
Reports
Explanatory
Persuasive
Skills

• To paraphrase
• To research
• To summarise
• To actively respond to different texts
• To detect points of view and bias
• To locate key pieces of information

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An alternative to note taking This method is
very effective in making note taking active,
aiding memory retention and incorporating
multiple learning styles. This is great for
giving theoretical notes on endless amounts of
photocopies which you cannot guarantee students
will have read and digested. Only 5 of content
is remembered the old way compared to 87 of
content this way!
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Exemplar Exam Materials English Level 1
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Exemplar Exam Materials English Level 1
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Exemplar Exam Materials English Level 2
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Functional English
Functional ICT
Functional Maths
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Support for sowing the seeds of Functional Skills