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QTS Literacy Skills Test Support Booklet

The teacher’s use of professional English

A summary guide for ITT applicants

Contents

Preamble.................................................................................................................................... 4

Knowing how the language is organised - the competence to guide learners. ..................... 4

Communicating with parents and carers. .............................................................................. 4

Communicating with professional peers. .............................................................................. 5

Absorbing complex information accurately. .......................................................................... 5

Teachers in the spotlight – being good role models. ............................................................. 5

Boost Your Spelling ................................................................................................................... 6

The professional vocabulary .................................................................................................. 6

Boost Your Grammar................................................................................................................. 8

Why is good grammar important? ......................................................................................... 8

Grammar 1 Warm-up ........................................................................................................... 10

Grammar 2 Creative Learning .............................................................................................. 12

Grammar 3 The role of play in education ............................................................................ 13

Grammar 4 Phonics: My Views’ by Michael Rosen .............................................................. 16

Grammar - answers .............................................................................................................. 17

Boost your comprehension ..................................................................................................... 19

Assimilating complex information ....................................................................................... 19

Range of sources .................................................................................................................. 19

The test within the test ........................................................................................................ 19

Grappling with Terminology ................................................................................................. 20

Explicit and Implicit .............................................................................................................. 21


Contradictions ...................................................................................................................... 23

Comp 1 Mind maps: rubbish in theory, but handy in practice ............................................ 24

Comp 2 Grammar talk - the latest chapter .......................................................................... 27

Comp 3 Inferential Comprehension – or ‘reading between the lines’ ................................ 29

Comp 4 Beyond 2012 – outstanding physical education for all .......................................... 32

Comprehension answers ...................................................................................................... 37

Appendix 1 – Printed and electronic references and links ..................................................... 38

Appendix 2 - Handy word lists to practice .............................................................................. 40

Further exercises and support can be found at:

Creative Openings

http://www.steveslearning.com

See also:

The Comprehension Supplement

The Grammar Supplement

http://www.steveslearning.com/


Preamble. Without going too deeply into the psychology of the matter language is learning. The teacher’s

understanding of this is critical, as it will inform the conduct of every language interaction that takes

place in a learning context. So, apart from the many other professional day to day demands and

expectations that teachers face, they need to be fully tuned into their own language and that of the

children they teach and to be appreciative of the critical importance of both to the success of the

learning enterprise.

The very nature of the work of teachers and the relationship they have with young learners and their

parents and carers means that the demands on the teacher’s language skills are huge and they need

to be able to show a high level of proficiency in their use of language in a variety of contexts and

circumstances. Teachers need to be very accurate in their use of spoken and written language and

that, for many trainee and aspirant teachers, means the deliberate and organised raising of a range

of personal literacy skills. It is not appropriate for those potential teachers who are aware of, for

example, their poor spelling, not to do something about it.

The government has seen fit to use proven proficiency in professional English as a requirement for

entry onto ITT programmes. This has emphasised the need for all teachers, irrespective of phase or

subject specialism, to be able to demonstrate in the course of their professional duties a very high

level of proficiency in English. This is seen as a key professional skill, which is further emphasised in

the range of requirements covered in Standard 3c of the Teachers Standards (2012), relevant to all

trainees, and 3c and d relevant to those training to teach learners in KS1 and KS2.

Knowing how the language is organised - the competence to guide learners. Teachers need to have facility, accuracy and proficiency in English. Teachers are always dealing with

learners who will need guidance in their use of English in the context of any curricular subject. It is

critical that teachers are able to spot errors and miscues in the learners’ writing and speaking with

the facility to explain the error and model the correction demonstrating understanding of the

importance of language across the curriculum. In order to do this effectively teachers need to

acquire knowledge of how the language is organised and how it works. This is a key professional skill

for all teachers.

Communicating with parents and carers. There is the need for teachers to be succinct, concise and accurate in their own writing as well as

being able to recognise these qualities in the writing of others. Teachers need to possess a facility

with language that allows them to communicate complex issues to parents, carers and the learners

themselves. Teachers need the facility with written and spoken language to be able to communicate

sensitive and personal information about the learners unambiguously and considerately. This is a

vital professional skill.


Communicating with professional peers. There is the need to be able to communicate effectively in spoken and written language with our

professional peers when discussing matters of professional import. The language demands on the

teacher are many and varied and one of these is the ability to use the appropriate language when

discussing educational matters with peers and with management. The knowledge of the vocabulary

and syntax of educational discourse is a skill that develops as the practitioner is immersed in the

working of the school and is key professional skill. The teacher needs to have the ability to work

individually, or as part of a team, on the design and the drafting of school and departmental policies,

reports, curricula and so forth.

Absorbing complex information accurately. The teacher is, like any professional in the public eye, bombarded with written material from a wide

range of sources: the LEA, the government, professional bodies, examination boards and so forth. All

this varied and, frequently, involved and complex information has to be processed effectively,

accurately and quickly. It is necessary to be able to understand and evaluate the material and act

accordingly.

Teachers in the spotlight – being good role models. Teachers are looked up to as being models in their use of language – the public justifiably expects a

higher standard of English from teachers than many of the other people with whom they come into

daily contact. Teachers are highly educated and highly motivated individuals and it is essential that in

their use of language, as in other aspects of their professional lives, they model the highest

standards. These public expectations have to be shouldered by teachers in their day to day work.

NB – Essential information

It is essential that as part of the preparation for the tests you familiarise yourself with the spelling

lists that appear in:

English programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2 (National Curriculum in England) September 2013

English programmes of study: key stage 3 (National Curriculum in England) September 2013

It is also important to look carefully at:

Appendices 1 and 2 of the National Curriculum and the Glossary. These can all be accessed through

this link: http://www.steveslearning.com/qtsliteracysupport.htm

http://www.steveslearning.com/qtsliteracysupport.htm


Section 1

Boost Your Spelling

Techniques to use to give you confidence and raise your spelling power

The professional vocabulary The words in the QTS Spelling Test are from a vocabulary that it is expected that teachers should be familiar with; many of the words are specialist terms that teachers use when writing in the course of their professional duties and so be familiar with their spelling and their meaning. The recording you hear is words said in Standard English. This is an accent just like others and this means that some of the words might not sound exactly as you might expect. That is why it is important to work hard to familiarise yourself with these words and the ones on the other lists noted at the foot of the page. To this is added the fact that English is an awkward language and there are many people who have some level of insecurity about their spelling. Of the thousands of people who have visited my website the vast majority have been looking for some measure of help and/or reassurance about spelling – it is the part of the test that many people dread. This insecurity is often caused by the fact that whilst there are patterns of spelling that can be discerned in the language, there is always the possibility that a word with which your are unfamiliar will misbehave and have an unexpected spelling and not seem to conform to any of the ‘rules’ with which you are familiar. Another source of spelling insecurity is the number of words that have a homophonic pair – two words can sound the same, or very nearly the same, but their spelling and their meaning are very different.

Chunking When faced with long and complex words it is wise to chunk them down rather than look at the whole thing at once. This enables you to see the smaller words within the larger ones and this in itself often makes the task of remembering the spelling much easier.

Mnemonics Personal and often highly individual mnemonics are useful – remembering when spelling NECESSARY that a shirt has ONE collar (the C) and TWO sleeves (the SS). Making up your own mnemonics is often better than borrowing someone else’s, because you are more likely to remember it and for it to be helpful.


Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check Many people find the look, say, cover, write, check sequence useful – as it is often used in primary schools to help young children with their spelling power it will be a useful addition to your personal set of spelling strategies:

o LOOK – look carefully at the word breaking it down into its chunks in your head. o SAY – Say the word out loud – make sure you are saying correctly (spelling

mistakes are often related to hearing mistakes) o COVER – Cover the word up – with paper or had – No peeping! o WRITE – Write the word down o CHECK - Success!!!!! No? Try again.

Suggested reading and links (more details in Appendix 3)

This document can be accessed in its entirety from www.steveslearning.com

www.howtospell.co.uk is very dynamic and useful website with links to You Tube video

lessons.

The Adult Learner’s Guide to Spelling by Anne Betteridge, published by Chambers 2011

QTS Spelling sets can also be found at: http://quizlet.com/subject/qts-literacy-test/

Go to the Spelling Lists in appendix 2

http://www.steveslearning.com/

http://www.howtospell.co.uk/

http://quizlet.com/subject/qts-literacy-test/


Section 2

Boost Your Grammar

Rules of thumb:

For each sentence read the whole of it very carefully. What is its meaning?

Look carefully at all the options.

Select the option that provides exact agreement in terms of number and tense as well as making sense.

Read the completed sentence to yourself so that you know it sounds right.

Why is good grammar important?

For many people good grammar comes naturally and when you see a grammatical error in a

piece of writing you will be able to recognise it even though you may not always be able to

explain what is wrong.

The ability to use good grammar is one of the ways the teacher shows that they appreciate

the precision with which language can be used and should be used. Young learners need

good models of both written and spoken language use and one of several of those models

will be their teacher.

Good grammar is not a class thing and the aim is not to persuade teachers or children to

‘talk posh’. Unfortunately, in the UK, we associate certain accents and dialects with certain

classes and part of the work of the teacher is to make sure that children do not feel that

their language is being undervalued if they happen to use non-standard forms. Rather, we

want them to be able to comfortable with both standard and non-standard forms. If we

achieve this, it will empower learners by giving them effective access to the language of the

media and of learning at the same time as feeling comfortable with their personal language

and the thinking they do it in.

Errors made by young learners

As teachers we need to be able to spot the grammatical errors in the writing and the

speaking of the children. Whatever our specialist subject, or whatever the main subject of

the lesson there needs to be a consciousness of the language of the subject and how we can

encourage the learners to see it when written, to hear it when spoken and to learn how to


use it appropriately themselves as a precision tool of their thinking, learning and

understanding.

Common errors

The support exercises contained in the next few pages contain examples of many of the

common errors of grammar that people habitually make – as such many of them will be

easy to spot, some, perhaps, not so easy. The QTS Literacy Skills Test is testing your ability to

understand Standard English grammar and to be comfortable with its use in your speech

and in your writing. This is not a matter of accent, this is a matter of dialect and teachers are

very likely to come across non-standard usages among their pupils and need to be able to

encourage the use of standard forms alongside their own idiolect and know when each is

appropriate.

Support exercises

The support exercises that follow give practice in a range of grammatical matters including

agreement of number and agreement of tense, choosing the correct word (link with the

correct use of vocabulary) and the structure of sentences, linked with the correct use of

punctuation.

Whilst Grammar 1 is about short answers, Grammar 2, 3 and 4 are based on texts written by

current educational thinkers.


Grammar 1

Warm-up

Agreement

Each of the following sentences has at least one grammatical error in it – rewrite the correct

version in the space provided.

1. The two factors in the success of the school was the commitment of the staff and the hard work of the pupils.

2. The parents were impressed by the effort of the children in the production of the play.

3. The main criteria of success was the happiness of the pupils who should of felt very proud.

4. The boy had been sat in the corner for about half an hour.

5. Many teachers, having been trained in ICT, has made excellent progress in the use of Excel.

Put each of the following words into a sentence

a. Contemptible

b. Contemptuous

c. Preferential

d. Curricular

e. Effected

f. Affect

g. Disinterested

h. Uninterested

i. Collaboration

j. Connotation

k. Ambiguous

l. Succinctly

m. Tallest

n. Exclusive

o. Inclusion

p. Exclusion

q. Uncommunicative

r. Hypothetical

s. Bureaucratic

t. Beneficial


Fill in the gaps

Put the missing word here

1 This is the pupil of _______ I spoke yesterday.

2 Jo is good at maths, but Angie is the _________ in the class at English.

3 Andrew did very ________ in his ICT test.

4 The parents wanted to see the teacher _________ had been most effective.

5 This was the school that _______ been nominated for the Best School Award.

6 These children should ________ been given more help.

7 The class’s average scores were, pleasingly, ________ than expected.

8 The ________ in the Head’s memo was that my classroom teaching was very strong.

9 I _________ from this that I may be able to apply for the promoted post.

10 The trouble with that child is _______ she will not get down to work.


Grammar 2 Creative Learning

Read the passage carefully and choose and mark the best fit from the alternatives in the

boxes.

Making connections

Being creative involves the whole (curriculum, curricula) not just the arts. It is not

necessarily about making an end-product such as a picture, song or play.

Children will more easily make (conventions, connections) between things they've learned if

the environment encourages them to do so. For example, (they needs, they need) to be able

to fetch (materials, material) easily and to be able to move them from one place to another.

Effective (partners, practitioners) value each child's culture and help them to make

connections between (experiential, experiences) at home, the setting and the wider

community.

It is difficult for children to make creative (convections, connections) in (living, learning)

when colouring in a worksheet or making a Diwali card just like everyone else's.

Transforming understanding

New connections help to (transform, transmit) our understanding but this can often be a

long process.

For example, children may need to run, jump and walk through puddles many times to

check out what (happened, happens). In this way they begin to understand more about the

(effect, affect) of force on water (KUW). They learn how to stay steady on their feet on a

slippery surface (PD). They might (construct, create) a little dance about splashing (CD) or

say a rhyme such as 'Doctor Foster' (CLL).

Effective practitioners record the (procedures, processes) that children go through. This will

help everyone to see how the children's thinking is (developing, devolving). Both children

and adults can then talk about the learning that has taken place


Grammar 3

The role of play in education

Note The examination of grammar in the QTS Skills Test can cover a considerable area. You should refer to the Johnson and Bond book where there is a long list of the possible errors that you need to be able to spot and correct in the test. There are also explanations of these and examples. As experienced readers of texts you will instinctively be able to sort the correct from the incorrect – instinct plays quite a large part in grammar, that and experience that tells you if the sentence ‘sounds right’.

Passage 1 Read this passage carefully and mark the alternative in the brackets that you feel is

correct.

Teresa Cremin, professor of education at the Open University, on the role of play in

education

The US researcher Sternberg (argue, argues) that as children move through school, they

quickly learn how the system works and (express, suppress) their spontaneous creativity.

This doesn't happen, however, at home, on digital platforms or out with their friends where

they are often highly (creative, creating).

Some teachers, in seeking to achieve (proscribed, prescribed) targets, which they are

pressured to do, also (curb, curve) their creativity, avoid taking risks and leading

(exploitations, explorations) in learning. But it needn't be that way. A key issue in my view is

being convinced that play and creativity have an important role in education, and that as

professionals we have a responsibility to nurture these.

The world is changing and is more (uncertain, self-contained) than ever before. Surely

creativity is a critical component in enabling us to cope, to find pleasure, and to use our

imaginative and innovative powers. These are (key results, key resources) in a knowledge-

driven economy and, as educators, we must take up the mantle and educate for tomorrow.

For an approach that fosters playful sharing of ideas, Teresa recommends The Helicopter

Technique, developed by the team at MakeBelieve Arts in London.

Extracted from article found at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/27/play-education-creative-learning-

teachers-schools

http://www.open.ac.uk/

http://www.makebelievearts.co.uk/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/27/play-education-creative-learning-teachers-schools

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/27/play-education-creative-learning-teachers-schools


Passage two

Choose and mark the sentence that best fits

Overcoming barriers to parental engagement in school

Parental engagement can be a very powerful tool in raising achievement. By working

together with the school, parents can create a fantastic home learning environment and

help to reinforce lessons learned in school.

A. Unfortunately all to often parents become disengaged with school and may even

appear disinterested in their child’s education.

B. Unfortunately, all too often, parents become disengaged with school and may

even appear disinterested in their child’s education.

C. Unfortunately all too often parents became disengaged with school and may even

appear to be disinterested in their child’s education

This often isn’t the case, instead parents are often falling foul of common barriers which

prevent them from engaging fully with the school.

Unpleasant memories of school

Many parents can be reluctant to engage with their child’s school because they have such

difficult memories of their own time at school. They may be only a few years out of school

and still consider it to be quite a daunting place.

A. Open honest friendly staff who communicate positively with parents broke down

these barriers though it can be hard to encourage the first step.

B. Open, honest, friendly, staff who communicated positively with parents can help

to break down the barriers. Though, it can be hard to encourage the first step.

C. Open, honest, friendly staff who communicate positively with parents can help to

break down these barriers, though it can be hard to encourage the first step.

Sometimes holding informal, fun events aimed at bringing parents into school can help to

bridge the gap. Just make sure you make them feel really welcome when they get there.

Forbidden by children to ‘make a fuss’

Parents speaking to teachers can be a real no no for a lot of kids. They think their parents

are stirring up trouble and making a fuss. The only way to get around this barrier is to


slowly chip away at the entire ethos of school-parent relationships at your school until

everyone can understand that regular communications between teachers and parents is

normal and helpful.

Only get involved if there’s a problem

Many parents wouldn’t dream of contacting the school unless there was an issue with their

child.

A. Again, this barrier can only be broken down by trying to address the ethos of

home-school communications.

B. Again this barrier can only be broken down by trying to have addressed the ethos

of home-school communications.

C. Again – this barrier – can only be broken down by trying to address the ethos of

the ‘home-school’ communications.

Parents need to be helped to understand that even when their child is doing very well, they

can be instrumental in driving that achievement further.

Infrequent communication from the school

Many parents hear only very infrequently from the school – they might get sent home the

occasional newsletter but in terms of actually hearing information about their child, it may

be limited to one report and one parents evening a year. That’s not a useful dialogue. Think

about how you can usefully increase the frequency of your communications with parents –

and how you can make it a two way conversation.

Extracted from article found at: http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/index.php/2011/06/parental-engagement/

http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/index.php/2011/06/parental-engagement/


Grammar 4

Phonics: My Views’ by Michael Rosen

Choose the best alternative from the choices available in the boxes.

My observations: teaching children to read by phonics alone is in essence a means of teaching children how to read out loud.

1A That is the process that was being taught that is all that phonics on its own can do this is acknowledged by phonics enthusiasts in two ways. Included in all phonics programmes are words that can't be decoded phonically.

1B That is the process that is being taught. That is all that phonics on its own can do. This is acknowledged by phonics enthusiasts in two ways: included in all phonics programmes are words that can't be 'decoded' phonically.

1C That is the process that will be taught, that is all that phonics on its own can do. This is acknowledged by phonics enthusiasts in two ways included in all phonics programmes are words that can't be 'decoded' phonically.

2A They are called such things as 'tricky' words or 'red' words. These are learned as whole words. The other way is that most phonics enthusiasts I have met advocate a rich diet of rhymes and stories for children in Reception and Year One.

2B They are called such things as 'tricky' words or 'red' words these were learned as whole words the other way is that most phonics enthusiasts I have met, advocate a rich diet of rhymes, and stories for children in Reception and Year One.

2C They are called such things as tricky words or red words these are learned as whole words the other way is that most phonics enthusiasts I have met will advocate a rich diet of rhymes and stories for children in reception and year one.

3A These are read to the children rather than read with or by them. However there is in that an implicit understanding that reading involved an internalising of the whole code of written language. And that one way to do this is to hear written language being read.

3B These are read ‘to' the children rather than read 'with' or 'by' them. However, there is in that an implicit understanding that reading involves an 'internalising' of the whole code of written language and that one way to do this is to hear written language being read.


3C These are read 'to' the children rather than read 'with' or 'by' them however. There is in that an implicit understanding. That reading involves an 'internalising' of the whole code of written language and that one way to do this is to hear written language being read.

Allied to this of course is the idea that reading is not just a matter of making appropriate noises but a matter of 'making meaning'.

This is an extract from Michael Rosen’s blog 3rd January 2013 found at: http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/phonics-summary-of-my-views.html

Grammar Section – answers

Grammar 1 page 10

Agreement

The two factors in the success of the school were the commitment of the staff and the hard

work of the pupils.

The parents were impressed by the efforts of the children in the production of the play.

The main criterion of success was the happiness of the pupils who should have felt very

proud.

The boy had been sitting in the corner for about half an hour.

Many teachers, having been trained in ICT, have made excellent progress in the use of Excel.

Fill in the gap

1. Whom

2. Best

3. Well

4. Who

5. Had

6. Have

7. Better/higher

8. Implication

9. Inferred

10. That

http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/phonics-summary-of-my-views.html


Grammar 2 page 12

curriculum connections they need materials practitioners experiences connections

learning transform happens effect create processes developing

Grammar 3 page 13

Passage 1 Argues, express, creative, prescribed, curb, explorations, uncertain, key resources. Passage 2 B, C, A. Grammar 4 page 15

B, A, B.


Section 3

Boost your comprehension

Assimilating complex information

Being able to quickly read, understand and assimilate large quantities of text from a

variety of administrative, professional and academic sources is a key skill of a

teacher. From the National Curriculum documents to Government guidance of child

protection, from journal articles to internal school memos information has to be

read accurately and then frequently and immediately incorporated into the daily

round of the teacher.

Range of sources

The passages that are used for the QTS Literacy Skills Test are all weighty and carry

much information, they are frequently couched in academic language or show the

signs of having been drafted by civil servants. As a teacher you are one of the

audiences and so in the support material in this booklet is material from such a range

of sources. There is material that will help you to discern the opinions of the writer

as they critique certain aspects of government policy, there are passages that

demonstrate certain views on the current thinking in education and there are articles

taken from the educational pages of national newspapers. Each of the extracts

endeavours to provide experience in reading complex material as well as that of

unpicking the meanings carried by the words.

The test within the test

Experience has shown that the way the questions are couched in the test can prove

something of a problem. There is a demand here, as well as in all other aspects of

this test, to have at your fingertips a teacher’s vocabulary and a teacherly way of

looking at things. The phrasing of the questions and the judgements that examinees

are being asked to make this a rigorous test.

Vocabulary in context. This part of the test is about your understanding of vocabulary and about your ability to assimilate the information in a complex piece of writing.

Shades of meaning. You will need to assess and understand the shades of meaning that can exist between words (see Grappling with Terminology below)


How opinions are expressed. You will also need to appreciate that in the passage there will probably be more than one opinion expressed and you need to be able to differentiate between them.

Grappling with Terminology

The following terms are frequently used in the comprehension part of the test – they

can look daunting, here’s a breakdown of what they mean.

Supported (S)

Can you find a part of the passage that agrees with the statement? Can you find a

specific quote that supports the point in question?

That is to say; is the meaning of the statement supported by the meaning of all or

part of the passage? If you can find such a reference, then the statement in the

question is supported.

Implied (I)

If something is implied it is not stated directly, but as you read the passage you get

the drift – you get the implication, there will be hints – If a passage was about

corporal punishment, for example, and the writer was against this there would be

clues in the writing that would allow us to decide the opinion of the writer apart

from direct statements. This is called inferential comprehension – it can also be

called ‘reading between the lines’.

No evidence (NE)

Here will be a statement and as you look over the passage again you will find that

there is no evidence for that opinion in the text.

Implicitly contradicted (IC)

Imply is the verb, implicit is the adjective (see above) and implicitly is the adverb. In

this case we are looking to see whether there is anything in the passage that, whilst

not being said directly, is suggesting a contradiction.

Explicitly Contradicted (EC)

In this case as you look through the passage you find that there is meaning in the

passage that is contradicted by (goes against) the statement in the question.


Explicit and Implicit

Examples of implications

ideas that are carried between the lines

1. What is being implied by this sentence? Informal discussions and sharing of ideas between staff (teachers and teaching assistants) were useful but insufficient to promote consistency of approach and better progression. Answer There is value in informal discussions but these needed to take place more often if they are to help to properly maintain consistency of approach and progression among the pupils. 2. What is being implied in this sentence? In primary schools, some teachers lack the specialist knowledge needed to teach PE well and outcomes for pupils are not as good as they could be. Answer Specialist subject knowledge is needed to teach PE effectively in primary schools and improve the outcomes for the pupils. 3. What is being implied in this paragraph? Although the survey uncovered areas of good practice, the quality of transition between Key Stages 2 and 3 in English was too often no better than satisfactory. The lack of regular communication and exchange of ideas between primary and secondary schools created problems for continuity in teaching and assessment. Answers (Each of these are closely related in meaning and ‘correct’)

Because of the variation across the country of the quality of transition arrangements between key stages 2 and 3 many pupils do not always get a good deal on transfer.

Better arrangements should be made between secondary schools and their feeder primaries in order to facilitate continuity.


It would be a good idea if primary and secondary schools liaised more closely.

The progress of the pupils would be better if there was better communication and information exchange between primary and secondary schools.

Exercises – try these

What is being implied by these statements?

From a report on geography teaching

1. Fieldwork encouraged a higher than average take-up of examination courses at a time when examination entries for geography were falling nationally.

_____________________________________________________________________

2. Developing a deeper understanding of people and places, and of the need to live in balance with an increasingly fragile environment, is more important than ever in today’s world.

_____________________________________________________________________

From a report on PE teaching

3. Nevertheless, the report confirms there is more good and outstanding PE

than at the time of the last Ofsted PE survey in 2008. Sustained government

investment has enabled schools to make significant improvements in PE and

school sport.

_____________________________________________________________________

4. More able pupils do not have enough time to practise and achieve their very best. Only a minority of schools play competitive sport to a very high level.

_____________________________________________________________________


Contradictions

Explicit

If something is explicit it is in the text - there is evidence that you can point to - it can be a fact or an opinion, but it is there in black and white.

For example: the text says "George did not like dogs and had never owned one." The reader is perfectly clear about George's position on dogs. If the statement in the question says "George was fond of dogs." - then this would go against what was explicitly stated in the text and have to be EC.

Implicit If something is implied (or implicit) it is being suggested by the text. For example: the text says "George moved away from the dog, he'd never owned one." This doesn't say the words that George didn't like dogs, but it is the feeling that you get when you read it. If the statement in the question said "George was fond of dogs." then this would go against what was implied or suggested by the text and have to be IC.


Comprehension 1

Comment

Mind maps: rubbish in theory, but handy in practice It is a shame that perfectly good teaching tools are constantly being justified with hokum references to neuroscience, says Philip Beadle Philip Beadle, The Guardian, Tuesday 18 April 2006

I mind mapped this article before writing it. It would be interesting to find out whether regular readers notice any rise in quality. Mind mapping is easy. First, locate hundreds of coloured pencils. Then sharpen them until your index finger is swollen. Of course, the leads will become lodged in the sharpener, which will then break, but you must persist. Under no circumstances use a felt tip. They are wrong. Draw something right dead bang in the middle of your paper. Do not go too near the sides, children, for we are "radiant" thinkers and need space to spread our thoughts! Draw six multicoloured lines out from the centre and a picture at the end of each that is in some way related to the central image. The lines should be curly: there is no room for the ruler in the 10 realm of the creative. Finally, write key words in upper or lower case on the curly lines. You have now drawn a basic mind map and are ready to rule the world and the spineless ants who inhabit it. Mind maps have all the seductiveness of popular science. When we have mastered them, we feel as if we are in possession of a precious secret known only to the select few million who have purchased a book by their progenitor, Tony Buzan. And they come with some grand claims: mind maps "help make your life easier and more successful", says Buzan in How to Mind Map. You will immediately "think up brilliant ideas" 20 and "gain control of your life". It is a wonder the world managed to turn without them, really. The popular science bit goes like this. Your brain has two hemispheres, left and right. The left is the organised swat who likes bright light, keeps his bedroom tidy and can tolerate sums. Your right hemisphere is your brain on drugs: the long-haired, creative type you don't bring home to mother.

http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Feducation%2F2006%2Fapr%2F18%2Fschools.uk%2Fprint&t=Mind%20maps%3A%20rubbish%20in%20theory%2C%20but%20handy%20in%20practice%20%7C%20Education%20%7C%20The%20Guardian&src=sp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian


According to Buzan, orthodox forms of note-taking don't stick in the head because they employ only the left brain, the swotty side, leaving our right brain, like many creative types, 30 kicking its heels on the sofa, watching trash TV and waiting for a job offer that never comes. Ordinary note-taking, apparently, puts us into a "semi-hypnotic trance state". Because it doesn't fully reflect our patterns of thinking, it doesn't aid recall efficiently. Buzan argues that using images taps into the brain's key tool for storing memory, and that the process of creating a mind map uses both hemispheres. The trouble is that lateralisation of brain function is scientific fallacy, and a lot of Buzan's thoughts seem to rely on the old "we only use 10% of the neurons in our brain at one time" nonsense. He is selling to the bit of us that imagines we are potentially super-powered, probably psychic, hyper-intellectuals. There is a reason we only use 10% of our neurons at 40 one time. If we used them all simultaneously we would not, in fact, be any cleverer. We would be dead, following a massive seizure. Mind maps bring out the staffroom cynic in all of us. It is a shame that perfectly good teaching tools are constantly being justified with hokum references to neuroscience. Teachers want ideas with useful practical applications. If we wanted to be walking authorities on the hippocampus and cerebellum, we would have got better A-levels and worn slightly more conservative clothes. The mind map is underused in schools because of its association with bad science and with 50 Buzan, the emperor of self-promotion. But, providing you have access to a shipload of coloured pencils and a naughty boy to sharpen them, they are a good and valid classroom method with a variety of applications. The educationist Ian Gilbert, in his book Essential Motivation in the Classroom, tells a possibly apocryphal story of a school in which revision notes were all in the form of mind maps. Come exam time, teachers erected a giant white screen and asked students to project their recollections of their revision notes on to it. Needless to say, everyone got an A* and world peace was finally achieved. 60 As visual tools, mind maps have brilliant applications for display work. They appear to be more cognitive than colouring in a poster. And I think it is beyond doubt that using images helps recall. If this is the technique used by the memory men who can remember 20,000 different digits in sequence while drunk to the gills, then it's got to be of use to the year 8 bottom set. The problem is that visual ignoramuses, such as this writer, can't think of that many pictures and end up drawing question marks where a frog should be. They are no good as planning tools for those with a linguistic bias, as the process of creating 70 one is too bloody slow and, maybe because of all the left-brain-right-brain-cross-filtration-action, they can give you a headache. But they are a useful piece in any teachers' repertoire, given the right circumstances. I have always had a particular fondness for one of my father's tools. It is called a podger, and it does just that: it podges. There comes a time, when you are burning off bolts, when it is the only thing that will do. It's a useful tool, the podger, but, like the mind map, you shouldn't mistake it for a universal screwdriver.

Inferential comprehension task

Examine each of these extracts from the text and write down what is being inferred by the use of the highlighted words.

1. (Lines 37-38) The trouble is that lateralisation of brain function is scientific fallacy, and a lot of Buzan's thoughts seem to rely on the old "we only use 10% of the neurons in our brain at one time" nonsense.

2. (Lines 45-46) Mind maps bring out the staffroom cynic in all of us. It is a shame that perfectly good teaching tools are constantly being justified with hokum references to neuroscience. Teachers want ideas with useful practical applications.

3. (Lines 50-51) The mind map is underused in schools because of its association with bad science and with Buzan, the emperor of self-promotion.

4. (Line 61) As visual tools, mind maps have brilliant applications for display work.

5. (Lines 77-78) It's a useful tool, the podger, but, like the mind map, you shouldn't mistake it for a universal screwdriver.

Notes


Comprehension 2

Monday, 21 October 2013

Grammar talk - the latest chapter Michael Rosen Anyone listening to BBC Radio 4 World at One today would have heard an argument between two people talking about 'grammar', one the author of Gwynne's grammar books and the other, Harry Ritchie who has just written a book about grammar. The argument which keeps doing the rounds is a) that there is a 'correct grammar' b) this must be taught (and always was in the old days) c) teaching this grammar enables poor people to succeed…. … All talk of ‘correct English’ or ‘standard English’ is intertwined with issues of education i.e. how do you teach people to write Standard English? First of all, a claim is often made that in the past ‘everyone’ used to be able to do it, and the reason why they were able to do it is because they were taught ‘grammar’ (i.e. the grammar of Standard English) so that by the time ‘we’ were nine, we knew all the rules. (This is what Gwynne said on today’s World at One). Both these statements are absolute untruths.

A) Many people failed the tests and hurdles given to them in the 1940s and 1950s. As a

result many people received no more than 9 years schooling (aged 5-14).

B) In state primary schools we were taught the ‘parts of speech’ but we weren’t taught

‘grammar’. This was taught to those of us who went to grammar school - a small minority of

the total number of school pupils.

The importance of getting this picture of the past right is that a good deal of talk about

standard English, ‘correct English’, grammar and rules is that it is fixed into the ‘narrative of

decline’ i.e. that things were good in the 40s and 50s but then it has all slowly got worse


since then. This is then used as the justification for insisting that a) there are rules b) the

rules aren’t being obeyed, c) the rules must be obeyed, d) the fact that they aren’t being

obeyed explains in part the narrative of ‘broken Britain’ along with e.g. crime, drug-taking,

the presence of the ‘underclass’ and so on.

I think this is a classic case of blaming the victim. I believe that our economic system creates

poverty and to blame the poor for being poor through e.g. their ‘bad’ use of English is to

mask and disguise the real causes of poverty and inequality. In fact, the main determinant of

school failure is itself the poverty and inequality caused by the economic system not

people’s non-use of Standard English.

This is a short extract from Michael Rosen’s blog the full version can (and should) be seen at: http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/grammar-talk-latest-chapter.html

Questions

1. In the first paragraph the writer makes several important points. Which three of the following

statements is true?

A. The writer feels that standards of English teaching have gone down in the past half century

B. The writer challenges the assertion by N.M. Gwynne, (the author of ‘Gwynne's Grammar: The Ultimate Introduction to Grammar and the Writing of Good English’) that everyone knew the all the rules of grammar by the time they were nine years old.

C. The writer asserts that knowing and using ‘Standard English’ is a sign of a good

education. D. Learning ‘Parts of Speech’ is not learning ‘Grammar’. Grammar was only taught to a

minority of pupils who actually went to ‘Grammar Schools’. E. The writer was taught parts of speech and also went to grammar school.

2. In the second and third paragraphs the writer makes several important points about

‘Standard English’. Which two of these statements is true?

A. The narrative of decline and a ‘broken Britain’ is associated in some people’s minds with a perceived decline from the 40s and 50s when grammar rules were taught explicitly.

B. The writer asserts that the development of an ‘underclass’ in Britain is linked to the

fact that so many rules are now being broken.

http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/grammar-talk-latest-chapter.html


C. Any idea of a brokenness of Britain is far more to do with the failure of the economic

system which deliver poverty and inequality than it is to do with any notion of children using ‘bad’ English.

D. School failure is inextricably linked to the inability of young people to appreciate the

importance of being able to write and speak in Standard English.

Comprehension 3

Inferential Comprehension – or ‘reading between the lines’

The butterfly effect in schools: sharing simple ideas can have a big impact Sir Tim Brighouse talks about his career-long love for education tips and encourages schools to share more of their simple but powerful good ideas. Tips for teachers have always had an undeserved bad name. When I started teaching in 1962, I couldn't get enough of them but they were in short supply in my theory-dominated PGCE course. I couldn't see the relevance of my tutors' theory and they frowned on my enthusiasm for tips to survive and then thrive. It puzzled me then and it still does. Surely theory becomes relevant with experience and enables you to distinguish between likely 5

good and bad tips. I went on to help run local education authorities where I was similarly fascinated by 'tips' for management and leadership. In the middle of all that I had four years in a university running its education department and its PGCE course where we followed Oxford's lead in making it 10

more school based, and therefore valuable to would-be teachers and their host schools. It was my mid-career university job that I found a theoretical justification for my love of useful tips as it provided me with the chance to read all the books I should have read when I was an undergraduate. In the course of my voracious reading, I learned about 'chaos theory' and in particular the illustration of little things having large impact – the 'butterfly effect' – 15

so called because if sufficient butterflies whirr their wings in the Amazonian rain forest a tornado can be unleashed hundreds of miles away. Of course not every time but sometimes if the climate and conditions are right.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/teaching

http://www.theguardian.com/education/schools


Armed with theoretical backing, I have been fascinated ever since by these butterflies particularly as they affect school improvement and teaching. Ideally and most appealingly 20

they should be interventions which require low effort but have high impact.

So a 'butterfly' would be rotating staff meetings in a primary school round classrooms so the host can start the meeting with a set of reflections on the best things and the points for development in their classroom organisation. Later the same school might rotate a staff agenda item among staff so that they take it in turns to review the use of some new piece of 25

children's literature in their teaching and how it might work with a different age group.

Yet another possibility is to have an item where a pupil's piece of work has been marked by three different teachers not from their own school so there can be debate about marking and assessment, so often the Achilles heel of school practice.

In the same vein, I was fascinated to visit a London academy that had adopted the simple 30

but powerful practice of interspersing students' workbooks with blue and green stickers, the former for the student to reflect on a couple of strengths of the work they have just completed and one point for development while the latter green stickers act as prompts for the teachers response. It seemed a simple but effective way to embed some aspects of formative assessment and take some of the heat out of marking. 35

Ideally 'butterflies' have most impact when they reinforce any of the following comments from Judith Little who said you know you are in an outstanding school where you can see that:

• Teachers talk about teaching.

• Teachers observe each other's teaching. 40

• Teachers plan, organise and evaluate their work together.

• Teachers teach each other.

So butterflies that affect the likelihood of that happening can powerfully improve the whole school effect, and I still collect them avidly. But not as avidly as some. There's a head in Surrey, Ani Magill, who is such a lepidopterist that she has found 365 briefly stated ideas to 45

try in schools.

After all there are so many things that require enormous effort in schools – sometimes it has to be said without any huge result - that it is refreshing to find something simple that helps.

• Do you have a tip or butterfly about teaching or school improvement to share? If so, post your advice in the comments. We want to create an ideas bank of tips for schools and 50

teachers

Questions

1. Re-read paragraph 1 (lines 1-6). Choose the sentence below that most closely describes what is being implied in this paragraph.


A. The writer felt that when he was training there was an imbalance between theory and practice.

B. Tutors were encouraging of the idea of ‘tips for teachers’.

C. Theoretical approaches to teacher training are not useful.

2. Re-read lines 8-11. Choose the sentence below that most closely describes what is being implied in these two sentences.

A. Oxford’s teacher training programme is very heavily theoretical and academic. B. The writer is in favour of school based teacher training as it benefits the schools

as well as the trainees. 3. Re-read lines 22-26. Choose the two sentences below that most closely describe

what is being implied in this paragraph.

A. This kind of practice is inclusive and valuable to all members of the school staff and shows the development of openness and sharing of good practice.

B. The Leadership team needs to ensure that it has control of what is happening in

the classroom. C. Small initiatives that have the quality of children’s learning as the focus will have

a much greater beneficial effect than would be first imagined. D. Everyone needs to share the same books to maintain standards across the

school.

4. Review the whole passage. Choose the statement below that sums up the message that the writer wishes to convey.

A. It is often the small, well targeted initiatives from within the teaching body of a

school that have lasting impact. B. In order to manage AfL it is necessary to look at the idea of multi-coloured

stickers.


Comprehension 4

Beyond 2012 – outstanding physical education for all Physical education in schools 2008–12

This is an adapted extract from Ofsted Report 120367, February 2013

This report is based on evidence from inspections of physical education between September 2008 and July 2012. Her Majesty’s Inspectors and additional inspectors from Ofsted visited 120 primary schools, 110 secondary schools and seven special schools. This report draws also on evidence from four visits to schools to observe good practice in PE.

Physical education (PE) is part of every child’s entitlement to a good education. It is unique in that it is taught through physical activity in weekly practical lessons both indoors and outdoors, in a wide range of physical, creative and aesthetic settings. It provides pupils with the generic skills, knowledge and understanding they need to become physically literate, and at the same time gives most of them their first regular experiences of sport. When 5

taught well, physical education enthuses and inspires pupils to participate fully and develop a life-long love of physical activity, sport and exercise. This report, Beyond 2012 – outstanding physical education for all, acknowledges the improvements made to PE and school sport over the last four years. However, inspectors 10

found that despite significant investment during much of this time, not all pupils have a good physical education. In some schools, there is not enough physical education in PE. In other schools, PE is not taught in enough depth and there is only limited access to a high standard of competitive sport. PE requires further improvement in about one third of primary schools and one quarter of secondary schools. 15

In primary schools, some teachers lack the specialist knowledge needed to teach PE well and outcomes for pupils are not as good as they could be. More able pupils are not always challenged to achieve their very best, levels of personal fitness are not high enough and not all pupils are able to swim 25 metres before they leave school. PE in secondary schools does 20

not always contribute to improving pupils’ fitness. More able pupils do not have enough time to practise and achieve their very best. Only a minority of schools play competitive sport to a very high level. Only a few schools have achieved a balance between increasing participation and generating elite performance: in these schools sport was played to a very high standard. 25

Nevertheless, the report confirms there is more good and outstanding PE than at the time of the last Ofsted PE survey in 2008. Sustained government investment has enabled schools to make significant improvements in PE and school sport. However, continuing these improvements will present a formidable challenge for schools against a backdrop of greater 30

expectations. Ofsted recommends that the Department for Education considers devising a


new national strategy for PE and school sport that builds on the successes of school sport partnerships and enables schools to make a major contribution to the sporting legacy left by the 2012 Olympic Games.


Task 1

Identifying the meanings of words and phrases … physical, creative and aesthetic settings. (line 3)

A indoor and outdoor games and activities

B the gym, the sports field and the dance studio

C activities such as gymnastics, keep fit and dance

… physically literate, (line 4)

A being able to write about the impact of physical activity

B learners need to know how far they can push themselves

C knowledge and understanding of your body’s capabilities and potential

… generating elite performance: (line 24)

A fostering the highest age related level of sporting achievement

B driving everyone hard to win

C promoting the development of a winning ethos

Sustained government investment … (line 28)

A specific and targeted grants for sporting projects

B general government funding for sport and the arts

C long term investment to achieve long term aims and objectives


Task 2

Selecting headings and subheadings Read each paragraph again and select from the choices below the most suitable title for each paragraph. Paragraph 1

A Knowing your body

B Participation sports are good for children

C Good physical education has life long value

Paragraph 2

A Not enough quality PE in primary schools

B Further improvement in PE provision needed

C Improvement needed in the majority of secondary schools

Paragraph 3

A Too many pupils fail to realise their potential

B Elite athletes not encouraged by the system

C Many schools achieve highest standards in sport

Paragraph 4

A The Olympic legacy has been wasted

B High expectations not being met

C New strategy needed to build on the 2012 legacy


Task 3

Completing a bulleted list Select five of the statements below that appropriately complete the list of bullet points. The last one has been done for you.

A. The lack of specialist knowledge amongst staff in primary schools B. There is an insufficient level of challenge C. Only swimming is sufficiently supported in schools D. Some PE curricula do not develop fitness effectively E. Government investment in PE in insufficiently sustained F. Time available for promising youngsters is limited G. Ofsted have seen no improvement in PE provision since 2008

Factors that prevent children from realising their potential are:

Few schools are capable of effectively supporting elite performers


Comprehension section - Answers

Comprehension 1 - Mind maps: rubbish in theory, but handy in practice

1. The inference here is that the left-hand/right-hand theory of the brain has already

been discredited – certainly in the simplistic way that it appears to be looked at by Tony Buzan in the context of Mind-Maps.

2. The use of the word ‘hokum’ is key here. This is an Amercanism and means ‘rubbish’,

the sort of word that was saved for the sellers of quack remedies in the Wild West. The inference here is that these ideas are worse than useless, they could even be damaging.

3. Tony Buzan has become very rich and very influential on the strength of Mind-Maps

and one of his chief commercial attributes is that he knows how to be a good salesman.

4. The inference here with the use of the work ‘display’ in a rather pejorative way

suggests that the pretty pictures that the children come up with are useful for covering wall space but they don’t have any learning value.

5. In the sense the phrase ‘universal screwdriver’ means that thing that will fix anything

– the all-purpose tool. Too many people have jumped onto Mind-Maps without thinking through what they really are good for – thinking they will solve all the learning problems that children have.

Comprehension 2 - Grammar Talk – the latest chapter 1. B, D, E. 2. A, C. Comprehension 3 - The Butterfly Effect Task 1 A Task 2 B Task 3 A, C. Task 4 A Comprehension 4 – Beyond 2012 – outstanding physical education for all Task 1: B, C, A, C. Task 2: C, B, A, C. Task 3: A, B, D, F


Appendix 1 – Printed and electronic references.

Books Supporting the current form of the test Johnson, Jim, & Bond, Bruce Passing the Literacy Skills Test, third edition, (Achieving QTS Series), Learning Matters Ltd, 2012 Patmore, M. Johnson J., Bond, B., Weiss, N., Barker, G., Passing the Professional Skills Tests for Trainee Teachers and Getting into ITT (2013) Tyreman, Chris (2011) How to Pass the QTS Numeracy and Literacy Skills Tests: Essential Practice for the Qualified Teacher Status Skills Tests (Testing Series) NB – this book covers the tests as they will be from the autumn of 2014 Tyreman, Chris (2013) How to Pass the Professional Skills Tests for Initial Teacher Training (ITT): 1000 + Practice Questions. Websites and video clips Online tests:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional/b00211208/literacy/practice-literacy (PDFs)

http://www.education.gov.uk/QTS/literacy/assessment_engine.html (Interactive)

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/l/literacy%20test%20specification.pdf

Areas of literacy in the tests:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/traininganddevelopment/professional/b00211208/literacy/content

Passing the Professional Skills Tests for Trainee Teachers and Getting into ITT (2013)

http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/content/how-pass-qts-literacy-skills-test A Guide to the QTS Literacy skills test by Rita Pike on Teachers Media

http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/trainee/literacyskillstest Highly recommended spelling site

http://www.howtospell.co.uk/ with links to ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBTV1aaeXxo&list=UUbyo0ahlf0LiZJg_t7uyvIg

http://www.education.gov.uk/QTS/literacy/assessment_engine.html



http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/content/how-pass-qts-literacy-skills-test



QTS Literacy Test 'Trainee Teachers' 20.51 mins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzOCaEALrUE Resources for spelling, grammar, punctuation and comprehension

http://www.steveslearning.com/qtsliteracysupport.htm QTS Literacy Test Spelling Sets:

http://quizlet.com/subject/qts-literacy-test/ BBC sites

Skillswise – help for both English and maths: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english

Bitesize - http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/

Highly recommended spelling site:

http://www.howtospell.co.uk/ with links to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBTV1aaeXxo&list=UUbyo0ahlf0LiZJg_t7uyvIg Spelling App – mad and fun to sharpen spelling – for iPhone, iPad etc

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/miss-spells-class/id308754739?mt=8 Rules and examples of grammar issues

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/spelling-rules-and-tips

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_41.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzOCaEALrUE

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBTV1aaeXxo&list=UUbyo0ahlf0LiZJg_t7uyvIg

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/miss-spells-class/id308754739?mt=8

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/spelling-rules-and-tips

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_41.htm


Appendix 2 - Handy word lists to practice

List 1

Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check

Absence Accidentally Achievement Acquaintance Advice Advise Analysis Analyse Apparatus Apparent Arguing Argument Athletic Attendance Beginning Belief Benefited Boundaries Calendar Changeable Candidate Compelled Comparative Conscientious Conscience Criticise Controversy Definition Desperate Dictionary Disappoint Disastrous Dormitory Effect Eliminate Embarrass Encouraging Environment Exaggerate Excellence Accommodate Accumulate Acquire Acquitted Amateur Among Annual Apartment Appearance Arctic Arithmetic Ascend Balance Battalion Believe Beneficial


List 2


Business Height Committee Incidentally Conferred Inevitably Controversial Interesting Definitely Lightning Description Manufacture Disappearance Mischievous Dissatisfied Occasionally Britain Opportunity Commission Particularly Conceivable Perspiration Conscious Possibility Deferred Precedence Describe Preparation Dining Procedure Discipline Experience Eighth February Eminent Forty Equipped Generally Exhilarate Hindrance Eligible Incredible Encouragement Intellectual Especially Irresistible Existence Loneliness Existent Marriage Fascinate Mysterious Formerly Occurred Formally Optimistic Frantically Performance


List 3


Explanation Familiar Fiery Foreign Government Grievous Humorous Immediately Independence Laboratory Intelligence Manoeuvre Knowledge Miniature Maintenance Noticeable Mathematics Omitted Necessary Paralysis Occurrence Personnel Parallel Possession Permissible Precede Perseverance Prejudice Picnicking Probably Practical Profession Preferred Quizzes Privilege Reference Pursue Rhythm Recommend Seize Physical Ridiculous Possible Separation Preference Specifically Prevalent Temperamental Proceed Tyranny Pronunciation Usually Prominent Receiving Referring Repetition Receive Sacrilegious


List 4


Psychology Studying Pursue Succession Rigorous Tragedy Exaggerated Undoubtedly Regrettably Sincerely Automatically Succeed Embarrassment Technique Pedagogic Transferring Maturity Unnecessary Redundant Whether Supersede Grandeur Preponderant Hypocrisy Severely Immediately Specimen Changing Tendency Weird Unanimous Restaurant Weather Profession Rhyme Quantify Schedule Separate Similar Heroes Separate Scheme Impediment Prestige Emergent Prevail Independent Prevalent Equivalent Psychiatrist Prevalent Rhyme Excellent Rhythm Remission Sceptic Reminiscent Schedule


List 5

This collection of words could cause distress – but not anymore!! Column 1 - Words with double consonants Column 2 - ‘Awkward’ words Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check

Accommodation Illuminating Apprentice Independently Committee Formally Success Procedural Succinct Unnecessary Vacillate Preference Professionalism Ineffective Exaggeration Predecessor Harass Acknowledgement Assess Grammatically Misspell Anxiety Occurrence Exaggeratedly Abbreviation Exhaustive Challenging Justifiable Immeasurable Miscellany Disappearance Implementation Curriculum Mathematical Grammar Perpetrator Permission Commemorative Parallel Relieved


List 6

-able and –ible words

Rule of thumb:

If the first part of the word makes sense on its own (break, enjoy .. etc) add -ABLE

If the first part of the word does not make sense on its own (divi, feas .. etc) add -IBLE


Comparable Edible Favourable Indelible Lovable Legible Adorable Credible Walkable Ineligible Miserable Horrible Probable Terrible Questionable Sensible Respectable Possible Forgivable Susceptible Disposable Reversible Agreeable Indestructible Enviable Invincible Identifiable Tangible Enjoyable Flexible Valuable Divisible Breakable Feasible Reliable Inflexible Listenable Incorrigible Reasonable Impossible


List 7


Assistant Experiential Assistance Examination Accomplishment Facilitator Advanced Formulaic Consultant Fulfilment Contribution Forecast Conducted Generation Creativity Generic Delegation Gathering Developmental Guidance Delivery Identifiable Designated Identification Define Implemented Diversification Implementation Diverse Inculcation Devotee Influential Devotional Informative Distinguished Maintained Edification Maintenance Encouragement Management Enhancement Maximise Enlightenment Mediation Evaluations Modernisation Approve Disappear Approximate Dissipate Challenge Profound Commit Excellent Commensurate Grammar Committed Gripped


List 8


Motivation Recommended Negotiation Refinement Observation Reorganisation Obtain Representation Operational Restructuring Originality Revision Overhaul Safeguarding Participation Scholarship Participatory Security Pedagogy Selective Performance Specification Preparation Spearhead Promotion Standardised Provision Strengthening Publication Structure Publicity Superseded Pursued Supervision Quantified Targeted Qualified Transformative Received Transcendent Reception Validity Correspondence Happily Curriculum Vegetarian Recur Correspondent Recurrence Homophone Satellite Pronounce Succeed Pronunciation Inefficient Miscellaneous


List 9


Existent Experience Fascinate February Formerly Forty Formally Generally Frantically Hindrance Height Incredible Incidentally Intellectual Inevitably Irresistible Interesting Loneliness Lightning Marriage Manufacture Mysterious Mischievous Questioning Occasionally Optimistic Opportunity Performance Particularly Physical Perspiration Possible Possibility Preference Precedence Prevalent Preparation Proceed Procedure Pronunciation Quartile Cumulative Committee Abbreviate Professional Acclimatise Idiosyncrasy Allowed Sixth Apparent Quadrant Appear Consensus Approach Impracticable Appropriate Emergent Parallel


List 10

This is mixed list of awkward and professional words that occur regularly in the spelling

section of the test. Some of these have presented problems when they are heard in the

spelling section


Miscellany Eighth Philosophical Fifth Omit Half Omission Halves Opportunity Heroes Curiosity Humorous Curious Suspicion Passage Table Permissible Thorough Possess Tried Proceed Twelfth Meticulous Unanimous Recommend Vicious Questionnaire Confident Humour Impatient Ideology Judgement Succinct Label Terrible Ladle Truthful Merit Until Mileage Naïve Monotonous Occasion Prejudice Effect Demonstrable Jeopardy Assessment Awe Adolescence Awful Pursue Queue Stories Repertoire Fuelled Inclusivity Responsibility


List 11 – updated 23rd April

This is long, mixed list of awkward and professional words that occur regularly in the spelling

section of the test. Some of these have presented problems when they are heard in the

spelling section.


Accommodation Misspell Approve Disappear

Committee Abbreviate Approximate Dissipate

Professional Acclimatise Challenge Embarrass

Exaggerate Allowed Commit Excellent

Success Apparent Commensurate Grammar

Apprentice Appear Committed Gripped

Harass Approach Correspondence Happily

Assess Appropriate Curriculum Vegetarian

Immeasurable Parallel Recur Vacillate

Inefficient Passage Recurrence Homophone

Miscellaneous Permissible Satellite Pronounce

Miscellany Possess Succeed Pronunciation

Occurred Proceed Succinct Effect

Omit Precede Terrible Jeopardy

Omission Recommend Truthful Awe

Opportunity Questionnaire Until Awful

Curiosity Humour Naive Queue

Curious Ideology Occasion Repertoire

Eighth Judgement Prestige Rhyme

Fifth Label Prevail Rhythm

Half Ladle Prevalent Sceptic

Halves Merit Psychiatrist Schedule


Heroes Mileage Psychology Scheme

Humorous Monotonous Pursue Separate

Suspicion Prejudice Rigorous Impediment

Table Demonstrable Exaggerated Emergent

Thorough Assessment Regrettably Independent

Tried Adolescence Automatically Equivalent

Twelfth Pursue Embarrassment Prevalent

Unanimous Stories Pedagogy Excellent

Vicious Fuelled Maturity Remission

Confident Responsibility Redundant Reminiscent

Impatient Possession Supersede Preponderant

Correspondent Predecessor Meticulous Cumulative

Emergent Impractical Consensus Quadrant

Hypothesis Uncommunicative Sensitivity Bureaucratic

Auxiliary Cohesive Conjunction Ellipsis

Homophone Homonym Intransitive Temperature

Convenience Yacht Supplement Marvellous

Sixth Idiosyncrasy Irretrievable Disjointed

Guaranteed Statutory Hygienist Transitive

Phoneme Controversy Neighbour Environment

Negligible Justifiably Achievable Compulsory

Explicit Mathematical Commemorative Relieved

Conscious Similarity Benefited Syllabus

Capabilities Inappropriate Crucial Communication

Accomplishments Unacceptable Synonymous Exhaustive

Alerted Implementation Perpetrator Illuminating

Independently Formally Procedural Unnecessary

Preference Ineffective Acknowledge Grammatically

Inconspicuous Subordination Delinquent Resilient


Euphemistic Hyperventilate Fictitious Incongruous

Synoptic Privilege Synopsis Foreign

Budgeting Mysteriously Psychologist Temperamental

Succinctly Budgeted Vegetable Inconspicuous

Infallible Beneficial Sensitively Competence

Embarrassed Received Adjourned Acquaintance

Hygiene Sophisticated Fallible Communicative

Conspicuous Independence Collaboration Inattentive

Differentiation Accidentally Statistician Proficiency

Knowledge

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