Strategies for specific ACSF core skills

Resource ‘hubs’ that target multiple skills

1. Reading Writing Hotline – this hotline should be your first stop when looking for support with foundation skills.  It offers telephone and online information for students, tutors, and employers.  Students may contact the hotline to learn more about available foundation skill support. Tutors and employers may also use information, opportunities, and resources offered.

2. Skills workshop – this is an amazing site that features 2000 activity resources organised into the following categories:

• English
• Maths
• Pre-entry
• ESOL
• ICT
• General
• Contextual

3. Khan Academy – the Khan Academy is a “nonprofit with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” (source: Khan Academy home page). It features a range of activities that students and adult learners can complete to help them build skills in:

• math
• science and engineering
• arts and humanities.

4. Ako Aotearoa (New Zealand)’s You Tube Channel: Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Cultural Capability – This channel offers 86 videos to choose from, each of which targets a specific foundation skill.

5. Smith Family: Tutor resources – this site offers a comprehensive collection of teaching tips and resources that target multiple foundation skills.

6. VALBEC’s We learn all the time, any time curriculum and activities “provide LLN teachers and students with ideas for exploring how they can start to build strength, ability and confidence” (source above).  The activities suggested build learning, reading, writing, and oral communication skills.

7. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s teaching resources for secondary teachers – these resources are aimed at secondary school students, but adult educators will also find them useful.  Resources target skills such as English, Commerce, health and well-being, and more.

8. BBC Teach – the BBC Teach website offers worksheets and other resources that educators can use with their learners to build their foundation skills.  BBC Teach – Skillswise focuses on adult learning and offers activities that target:

• English skills – including reading, writing, spelling, word grammar, sentence grammar and speaking/listening
• Maths skills – including numbers, calculation, percent and fractions, measuring, shapes and graphs
• Essential skills for jobs – including skills related to looking for work, working in the public vs private sectors, and self-employment.

* The BBC Teach site features both videos and downloadable worksheets – you must purchase a BBC Teach licence to access the videos, but the worksheets are freely available.

Below are some additional resources to help adult learners build foundation skills:

Learning	Reading
pdf: Working from Strengths: venturing towards strength-based adult education Ideas that Work video: Develop your learners’ Learning skills	Online student activities: BBC Teach – Skillswise – Reading (worksheets only, videos not freely available) Teaching reading to Adults Ideas that Work video: Developing reading skills
Writing	Oral Communication
BBC Teach: Skillswise (worksheets only, videos not freely available) Khan Academy – self-paced grammar activities for learners Ideas that Work video: Develop your learners’ writing skills	eLearning infographic: How to plan a meaningful class discussion Ideas that Work video: Developing your learners’ speaking and listening skills Online content from Ako Aotearoa (New Zealand): Language in the trades BBC Teach – Skillswise: Speaking and listening activities (worksheets only, videos not freely available)
Numeracy (1)	Numeracy (2)
Mister Woo Tube:  Eddie Woo’s compilation of videos teaching a plethora of maths skills – although his site focuses on math rather than the broader concept of Numeracy, it is an amazing source of insight that both students and teachers find useful. Video: Algorithm for subtraction (used in the USA and Australia) Online toolbox: Construction, Carpentry and Joinery Numeracy Flexible Learning Toolbox Web content: Visual Fractions Money Smart teaching resources for financial literacy (ASIC) Ideas that Work video: Develop your learners’ Numeracy skills Video tutorials: Moneyminded (ANZ Bank) Skills workshop UK (Generic LLN, ESOL and ICT skills) Three Steps to Core Skill Support – Transport and logistics BBC Teach – Skillswise: Maths activities (worksheets only, videos not freely available)	Have your got Maths Eyes – this appealing and easy-to-navigate site has loads of ideas and resources to help you help your learners see maths in the real world. Worth a visit! Various pdf resources by Oggi Consulting, showing numeracy as part of work practice: Bicycle Fitting Cabinet Fitting Health Monitoring Shoe Fitting Using Ratios and Metric Conversions Using Rates and Performing Time Calculations Measuring length Calculating quantities Reading Specifications Reading instruments Professional development resources:  Oggi Consulting – access the Oggi Consulting website to download numerous resources that cover – among other things – strategies to teach numeracy skills. Percentages video, meaning and calculations VALBEC web-based resources:  Building Strength with Numbers (this site has multiple numeracy focus areas)
Evaluating Progress
Ideas that Work videos: LLN and Assessment LLN and Oral Assessment LLN and Writing assessment