BBC Skillswise

Who can use BBC Skillswise?
Anyone who wants to improve their English or maths, and is working below GCSE level, can use the materials on the website. If you are attending a class in a college or learning centre your tutor will be able to guide you and suggest how to use the materials. However, it would still be a good idea to get to know the website so that you can use it outside of the classroom as well.

If you are not attending a class you will be able to use the materials on the website but you might find it helpful to join one. Joining a maths or English class can be fun as you will be able to work with other people and get support from a tutor. If you are not sure where to find a class you could try the BBC's course finder website or ask in your local library.

What does the website contain?
The materials on the website are split into English and maths. Even if you are only interested in one of these subjects it would be worth spending time exploring both sets of materials. Click on English or maths to see what they cover: you will see a set of tabs labelled with the section headings, such as writing in the English set of materials or shapes in the maths set of materials.

Click on a topic you are interested in and you will see the different types of materials or activities that are there to help you with that topic. For each topic, you will find fact sheets, worksheets, quizzes and games.

How easy or difficult are the materials and activities?
There are two levels: E3 and L1. L1 is more challenging than E3 so if you have a look at the L1 materials and find them too difficult you could try E3. However, don’t think that you have to stay at one level for all topics. For example, if you are trying to improve your maths and feel more comfortable with calculation at E3 but find the shape materials at E3 too easy, have a look at the L1 shape materials. Do be careful of gaps in your knowledge – if you are finding a topic difficult at L1, you may find it helpful to try the same topic at E3.
If you find L1 materials too easy you could try the BBC's GCSE Bitesize website.

How can I use the different materials or activities?
Fact sheets and worksheets are probably easier to use under the guidance of a tutor in a class, but you can use them independently if you wish.

Fact sheets give you information – for example, they may tell you how to do something or what certain words mean. You can also find short cuts and helpful hints in the fact sheets. For most topics, you will find several fact sheets. Your tutor may give you a fact sheet on the topic you are working on or you could read it on-screen or print it off yourself to refer to as you need it.

Worksheets may be used for practising a topic, to help you remember it or to check if you understand it. Your tutor may tell you which worksheets to work on but you can also print them off and work on them outside of class if you want extra practice. They have answer sheets that you can use for checking your work with some explanations to help understand the answers. You may find it helpful to talk through the answer sheets with your tutor or a learning partner.

Quizzes can be used to check that you have understood a topic. There are three quizzes for each topic: A, B and C. A is the easiest and C is the most challenging. You can start with any level but if you are not feeling confident it would be best to start with quiz A. Each quiz has ten questions and each question gives you a choice of answers. Try to answer each question even if you are not sure of the answer – you will be told if you have got the answer correct or not and the correct answer will be explained.

 At the end of each quiz you will be given a score. You can try the quizzes as many times as you like to try and improve your score but if you find quiz A difficult it might be a good idea to go back to the factsheets and worksheets to go over the topic before trying the quiz again. If you are in a class your tutor should be able to guide you with this. If you find quiz A easy why not try quiz B for slightly harder questions, or for a bigger challenge give quiz C a go.

Games are a fun way of practising a topic. When you are playing games you use a lot of skills but often don’t realise it so it doesn’t feel like learning. There are games for practising your English and maths skills on the site. Your tutor may suggest you play one of the games in class – perhaps with some other learners. Or you might enjoy playing one of the games at home. The games are at different levels of difficulty so you should be able to find a level that suits you. You could try a spot of gnome fishing or even solve a murder! You could involve members of your family or friends – how good are their skills?

RELATED LINKS
BBC GCSE Bitesize – GCSE revision site aimed at schools but may be used by adults
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/

BBC UK course finder site
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/returning/

FURTHER LEARNING
Maths the Basic Skills Curriculum Edition.  Haighton, J., Phillips, B., Thomas, V. and Holder, D. Nelson Thornes. ISBN 0748777008