Professional Skills Tests Literacy John Keenan John.keenan@newman.ac.uk

1. Professional Skills Tests Literacy John Keenan John.keenan@newman.ac.uk Senior Lecturer Secondary English http://sta.education.gov.uk/professional-skills-tests/literacy-skills-tests https://newmanskillstests.wordpress.com/

2. The literacy professional skills test is divided into 4 sections: • Spelling (10 marks) • Punctuation (15 marks) • Grammar (10-12 marks) • Comprehension (10- 12 marks) • The test must be completed within 45 minutes, unless you have been granted specific arrangements • https://www.skillstestbooking.com/ • http://sta.education.gov.uk/professional-skills-tests/the-process-for-taking-the-professional-skills-tests • Practice Test • https://practice.skillstestbooking.com/phoenix/s/login/

3. Pass Rate of Both Skills Tests • 89.6%

4. Spelling 10/45 marks One chance – the rest you can edit Audio Ise or ize is fine You will have to spell ten words.

5. Very few people are ‘good’ at spelling.

6. Spelling You will have to spell ten words.

7. Spelling • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________

8. Spelling • disreputable • summoning • Happier • Cheerful • Deficiently • Complimented • Mindful • Caring • useable • funnily

9. The prefix and the suffix

10. Word webs

11. Wordbuilding

12. How many words can you think of with ‘cept’ in the middle?

14. Write Come Have Love ingered able Words ending in ‘e’ often have this letter removed before a suffix is added (except usually able)

15. The prefixes dis and mis are always dis and mis

16. More ent than ant

17. ful is always ful

18. All words ending in ly just have ly added

19. Any word ending in ‘consonant y’ has the ‘y’ turned into an i before a suffix

20. + er + ly happier + est happily + ness happiest happiness Words ending in y, preceded by a consonant, change to i when adding suffixes. Examples: ness, er, est, ed, ly happy pretty hungry empty supply marry reply

21. care + full careful waste + full wasteful help + full helpful colour + full colourful boast + full boastful -ful suffixes Tip: Words hardly ever end in full. The second l is usually dropped e.g. successful/disrespectful There are always exceptions, e.g. chockfull (but they’re rare)

22. -able endings are more common than -ibleones. Words ending in -ible often don’t leave a word if the suffix is removed, e.g. horrible, edible.

23. -ly suffixes Here are a few suggestions: Why do some of the words end -lly? actually especially eventually kindly weekly really Because the root word ends in an l. especial + ly = especially week + ly = weekly

24. Spelling • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________

25. Spelling • disreputable • summoning • Happier • Cheerful • Deficiently • Complimented • Mindful • Caring • useable • funnily

26. Spelling Rules

27. I before e except after c when the sound of the two letters is is ‘ee’ When the sound of these two letters is not ‘ee’, reverse it

28. i before e except after c when the sound is ee (as in bee): When the sound is not ee the rule does not apply: The only common exceptions are weird (because it’s weird !), weir, and seize.

29. i before e except after c when the sound is ee (as in bee): receive conceive believe deceive When the sound is not ee the rule does not apply: reign feisty eight efficient sufficient The only common exceptions are weird (because it’s weird !), weir, and seize.

30. When a word ends in ch, x, s, z, sh Just add ‘es’ to make a plural

31. Most words ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ turn to ‘ves’ to pluralise Calf – calves Scarf – scarves Life - lives

32. 1 + 1 Rule Single syllable when going to a double syllable usually doubles the consonant Big + er = bigger Fat + er = fatter Quiz+ es = quizzes Grip+ ing = gripping

33. Noun and verb Licence is a noun, license is a verb Practice is a noun, practise is a verb

34. Practise vs Practice verb noun The medical practice was full. Remember: She had to practise her singing!

35. Spelling • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • _______________

36. Spelling • believe • reign • efficient • Deceive • Buses • Monkeys • Hotter • Swimming • Thieves • practise

37. Mnemonicselephant- relevantchoco is lateone collar two socksbig elephants can always understand small elephants

38. Raven Remember Affect = Verb Effect = Noun

39. Gumbo lost an e in an argument. Never believe a lie. Dara checked the calendar every day. Eileen found herself at e's in the cemetery. Emma faced a dilemma. It's hard to embarrassreally righteous and serious students. A new environment will iron me out. Goofy Greg loved to exaggerate. That liar looks familiar. Generally, a general is your best ally. Mumateimmediately. An islandis land surrounded by water. I alone felt Eli's loneliness. Miss Pell never misspells. It's necessary to remember the cesspool in the middle. Please keep quiet about my diet. It's better to give than to receive. Rhythmhelps your two hips move. There's a rat in separate. It's truly hot in July.

40. Spelling strategies

41. Punctuation

42. researchers in the USA have made great claims for the effectiveness of group work in enhancing motivation developing social skills and raising levels of academic achievement. Slavin (1983a devised a number of structured approaches to competitive-cooperative work such as Team Games Tournaments Robertson 1990) focused on collaborative learning and aimed to promote prosocial skills and academic achievement in the UK Mercer (1991) and Moore and Tweddle (1992) investigated the role of CAL (computer assisted learning) and explored its potential for pair and group work Slavinat a recent conference said my methods can develop social relations improve childrens self-esteem and increase student achievement” Johnson and Johnson 1990: 71) make similar claims and offer evidence to suggest that group cooperative learning can promote higher achievement than an individual competitive approach

43. Passage A  Dear Jack,  I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours?  Jill  Passage B  Dear Jack,  I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?  Yours,  Jill  From Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss, Profile Books, 2003. 

44. Using commas A woman without her man is nothing A woman, without her man, is nothing. A woman: without her, man is nothing.

46. Commas Clausal – separates a subordinate clause from the rest of the sentence List Speech – goes before and after direct/reported speech Adverbial – after any sentence beginning with a ‘ly’ word

47. Main clauses A mainclausemakes sense on its own. On its own it could be a simple sentence. • Shelosther temper. • Trudging up the stairs • After he had eaten breakfast • She was looking forward to the party.

48. Subordinate clauses A subordinateclausedoesn’t make sense on its own. • She lost her temper. • Trudgingup the stairs,…. • After he had eaten breakfast,… • She was looking forward to the party.

49. Conjunctions – no comma Although since until because before if Unless whenever as when whether While wherever even if whereas so (that) for also nor or yet

50. Complex sentences A complex sentence contains at least one subordinate clause(a clause that doesn’t make sense on its own): • Trudging up the stairs, he knocked over a plant pot. • After he had eaten breakfast, he went for a walk.