English Teachers Resources
Material you can take into a classroom without rewriting it first, written by a teacher who has had to teach the same lessons to thirty-eight students at four different levels.
What this section is for
Most teaching material assumes conditions that do not exist: a small class, a single level, a photocopier, and time to prepare. This section assumes the opposite, because that is what most English classrooms in Sri Lanka actually look like.
The emphasis throughout is on things that work with large mixed-ability classes, few materials and limited preparation time.
How this section is arranged
The groups below follow the order of the work rather than the alphabet: the official matters first, then planning, then material for a lesson, then the class itself, then assessment. Events, your own development and the download list come last.
- Looking for a file rather than guidance? The full download list is at the foot of this page, with filters for type, subject, grade and skill.
- Looking for English Day? It has its own group, with the circulars, the amended oratory and storytelling rules, and eighty model compositions.
- Looking for a transfer? Mutual Transfers is in the first group, and the matching runs on the form itself.
Ask a question and get an answer the same day
Rohana Fernando runs a Telegram group and a WhatsApp group for English teachers, and answers questions in them personally. If you need a worksheet, a past paper, a marking scheme or a straight answer about a text or an examination requirement, you can ask for it and usually have it the same day.
The WhatsApp group is full at present, because WhatsApp limits group size. To ask for a place when one opens, send a message to 070 439 5240 saying that you teach English and where.
The Telegram group has room. To request membership, contact Miss Sankapali or Miss Dinu Samadhi through Messenger.
Official and service matters
Circulars, the offices you may have to deal with, and the transfer system.
Teacher Administrative Documents
Where the documents governing your service live: transfers, promotions, the Efficiency Bar, foreign leave, pay and the Establishments Code. Linked to the official source, never copied.
Government Circulars
How Ministry circular numbering works, the five kinds that affect teachers, and how to find the version that applies now rather than a superseded copy.
- Links the always-current official index
- Explains amendments and year-in-title traps
- Why there is no English-teachers' circular series
Important Links for Teachers
Teacher service, transfers, promotions, the Establishments Code, the Service Minute, the ten Efficiency Bar modules, and the Regional English Support Centres.
- Every link tested before publication
- The two documents that govern your service
- NIE, EPD and the 30 RESCs
Provincial and National School Transfers
Why moving between a provincial school and a national school is not an ordinary transfer, which officers an application passes through, and what the Ministry has - and has not - published about it.
- The two systems and who approves each
- The documents provinces ask for
- The precise question to put in writing
Mutual Transfers
For English, Maths and Science teachers: find a teacher of your subject to exchange places with. Private: your details go only to a teacher whose request matches yours.
Planning and preparation
Templates and worked examples for the paperwork a teacher has to produce before teaching anything: year plans, term plans, daily notes and individual lessons.
Lesson Plan Guidance
A workable lesson structure, and plans you can adapt.
Lesson Plan Template
A blank plan, an observation checklist and a self-evaluation form, free to print.
Sample PPP Lesson Plans
Presentation, Practice and Production lessons built on Pupil's Book unit activities, for Grades 3, 4, 6 to 11 and A/L General English.
Annual and Term Plan Templates
A yearly scheme and a term plan, with each grade's units listed.
Daily and Weekly Notes Templates
Record-of-work forms with a sample entry for each grade.
Competency Levels by Grade
The eight competencies and every competency level from the NIE Teachers' Guides.
Material to use in a lesson
Things that can be printed, projected or read out. The generator makes a worksheet or a short test to your own specification.
Study Packs
Ready-made study and self-learning packs for Grades 3 to 11, including the Way Forward term packs and the O/L packs, with answer keys where they were published.
English Classroom Games
Eight games for every grade from 1 to 11, tied to what that grade is learning. No equipment, and each one says what to do in a class of forty-five.
Worksheets
Printable practice, and how to design your own.
Worksheets by Grade
Ten worksheets for each grade from 6 to 11, covering reading, writing and grammar, each with an answer key.
Worksheet and Test Generator
Choose grade, topics and question types, and print a worksheet or test with an answer key.
Classroom Activities
Activities needing no materials and little preparation.
Flashcards and Games
Print flashcards from ready-made word sets or your own words, with eight games to play.
Teaching Guides
How to teach the difficult topics: tenses, articles, writing.
Pupil's Books and Teachers' Guides
Direct links to every English book and guide the government publishes free.
Teaching the class in front of you
For the class as it actually is: large, mixed in ability, and containing pupils who are several years behind.
Classroom Management
Rules and routines, classes of forty, attention, behaviour, pair work and transitions.
Mixed-Ability Teaching
One class, six levels, one teacher: what actually works.
Remedial English
Where to start with a student who has fallen far behind.
Slow-Learner Support
Smaller steps, more models, more repetition — done deliberately.
Guided Writing
Teaching writing so that weak learners can succeed at it.
Assessment and marking
Setting the paper, marking it consistently, and using what the marks tell you.
Sample SBA Tools
School Based Assessment tools for English (Grades 2 to 13) and O/L Literature, in the school assessment tool format.
English Day and school events
The circulars that set the rules, material the pupils can work from, and the model compositions written for the writing events.
English Day Resources
The circulars, the amended oratory and storytelling rules, and material for the competitions: story skeletons, writing prompts and play scripts.
English Camp Activities
Running a one-day camp: the timetable, the oath and ground rules, and five activity sessions, with the Central Province guide to download.
Creative Writing: Model Compositions
Eighty compositions, ten for each grade, at the length each grade is expected to manage - 100 words at Grade 6 rising to 250 at A/L. Each carries a note on the one thing it shows.
Sample Project Proposals
English Only Day, English Day, a reading programme, a wall newspaper and more.
Your own reading and development
For the teacher rather than the class: articles, professional reading, qualifications, and the groups where questions get answered the same day.
AI Tools for English Teachers
Ready prompts for passages, questions and rubrics, what AI gets confidently wrong about a syllabus, and the one thing never to type into it.
ELT Articles
Practical articles from English Teaching Forum for large classes: speaking, reading, writing, feedback and exams, each with a summary and the full article.
The teacher resource groups
Telegram and WhatsApp groups where English teachers' questions are answered promptly and requested resources are shared the same day.
For the classroom today
For the classroom
Ask the question before you name the pupil. Name first and the rest of the class stops listening.
Downloads and publications
Files to keep, and the books RCF publishes for teachers. The full download list, with every filter, is at the foot of this page.
Teacher Downloads
Everything downloadable, in one filterable list.
RCF Publications for Teachers
Books written for classroom and tuition teaching.
Downloadable teacher resources
Files are listed here as they are prepared and approved. The written guidance in the pages above is available now, in full.
- TextbookGrade 6Official site, no HTTPS
Grade 6 English Pupil's Book
The Grade 6 English pupil's book published by the Educational Publications Department. Linked, not hosted; the Department also publishes it free on its own website.
Copyright status: Linked from the Educational Publications Department
- TextbookGrade 11Official site, no HTTPS
Grade 11 English Pupil's Book
The complete Grade 11 English pupil's book published by the Educational Publications Department, for the Ordinary Level year.
Copyright status: Linked from the Educational Publications Department
- Teachers' guideGrade 6
Grade 6 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 6 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama. Lesson planning, teaching activities and assessment guidance.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideGrade 7
Grade 7 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 7 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideGrade 8
Grade 8 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 8 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideGrade 9
Grade 9 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 9 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideGrade 10
Grade 10 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 10 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama, for the first Ordinary Level year.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideGrade 11
Grade 11 English Teachers' Guide
The Grade 11 English Language teachers' guide published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama, for the Ordinary Level examination year.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Teachers' guideAdvanced Level
General English Teachers' Guide, Grades 12 and 13
The General English teachers' guide for G.C.E. Advanced Level classes, published by the National Institute of Education, Maharagama.
Copyright status: Linked from the National Institute of Education
- Study packGrade 6first term2021
Grade 6 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 6 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province. Lessons keyed to the pupil's book and workbook by competency level.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 7first term2021
Grade 7 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 7 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 8first term2021
Grade 8 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 8 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 9first term2021
Grade 9 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 9 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 10first term2021
Grade 10 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 10 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11first term2021
Grade 11 English Study Pack, Way Forward, First Term 2021
A self-study and supplementary teaching pack for Grade 11 English, issued by the Provincial Department of Education, Western Province, for the Ordinary Level year.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Scheme Of WorkGrade 62026
Grade 6 Term Notes 2026, New Syllabus
A term-by-term scheme of work for Grade 6 under the new 2026 syllabus, organised by module and week. Lists the learning outcome, content standards and skills focus for each lesson. Follows the 2026 competency structure of listening, speaking, reading, writing and literary appreciation.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Scheme Of WorkGrade 92026
Grade 9 Scheme of Work 2026
A full Grade 9 scheme of work for 2026, listing each competency level with its learning outcomes, textbook and workbook activities, teaching aids and periods. Covers the future perfect, the passive voice in past and future, reported speech, conditional clauses and inference.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Scheme Of WorkGrade 112026
Grade 11 Term Notes with Competency Levels 2026
A Grade 11 scheme of work for 2026, term by term, mapping each competency level to its learning outcomes, activities, teaching aids and number of periods. Covers the Ordinary Level year.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Practice PaperGrade 112025
Grade 11 English Unit Tests 2025
A set of Grade 11 unit tests arranged by textbook unit, with matching, dialogue completion, punctuation and writing tasks and marks shown for each test. Prepared by the Regional English Support Centre, Matara.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 32021
Grade 3 English Self-Learning Activities Pack, 2021
A complete self-learning activity pack for Grade 3 English: picture-based tasks, first reading passages, handwriting and simple sentence work. The larger of the two Grade 3 packs.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 3
Grade 3 English Self-Learning Pack, Southern Province
A shorter Grade 3 English self-learning pack issued for the Southern Province. Useful as a lighter alternative to the full activities pack.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 42021
Grade 4 English Self-Learning Activities Pack, 2021
A self-learning activity pack for Grade 4 English: vocabulary building, short reading passages, guided writing and grammar practice.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 52021
Grade 5 English Self-Learning Activities Pack, 2021
A self-learning activity pack for Grade 5 English, the Scholarship year: reading comprehension, vocabulary and structured writing practice.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 6third term
Grade 6 English Study Pack, Way Forward, Third Term
The third-term Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 6 English, following the first-term pack already listed here. Lessons are keyed to the pupil's book by competency level.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 7third term
Grade 7 English Study Pack, Way Forward, Third Term
The third-term Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 7 English. Reading, writing and grammar work set out unit by unit.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 7
Grade 7 English Pack
A general Grade 7 English pack of lessons and practice activities. Distinct from the Way Forward term packs, and useful as extra material alongside them.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 8
Grade 8 English Self-Learning Pack
A self-learning pack for Grade 8 English covering the year's main language work, for use at home or as supplementary classwork.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 8third term
Grade 8 English Study Pack, Way Forward, Third Term
The third-term Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 8 English, following the first-term pack already listed here.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 92021
Grade 9 English Study Pack, Way Forward, 2021
The Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 9 English, 2021. Language work set out unit by unit for independent study.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 9
Grade 9 English Pack
A general Grade 9 English pack of lessons and practice activities, distinct from the Way Forward pack and usable alongside it.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 10third term2021
Grade 10 English Study Pack, Way Forward, Third Term 2021
The third-term Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 10 English, the first Ordinary Level year.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11third term2021
Grade 11 English Study Pack, Way Forward, Third Term 2021
The third-term Way Forward self-learning pack for Grade 11 English, the Ordinary Level examination year.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11
O/L English Study Pack
A compact Ordinary Level English study pack covering the paper structure and the main question types. A good starting point for Grade 11 revision.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11
O/L English Acceleration Kit 1
An Ordinary Level English acceleration kit: intensive practice material for candidates working to catch up or to raise a grade before the examination.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11
O/L English Self-Learning Pack, Sabaragamuwa Province
A full Ordinary Level English self-learning pack issued for Sabaragamuwa Province. The largest of the O/L packs listed here.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Study packGrade 11
Appreciation of English Literature Self-Study Pack
A self-study pack for Appreciation of English Literary Texts, covering poetry, prose and drama appreciation. The largest pack in this collection.
Copyright status: Linked from Google Drive
- Lesson planGrade 3
Grade 3 PPP Lesson Plans (11 plans)
11 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 3, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 3 English Pupil's Book (new syllabus), with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 4
Grade 4 PPP Lesson Plans (15 plans)
15 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 4, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 4 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 6
Grade 6 PPP Lesson Plans (11 plans)
11 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 6, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 6 English Pupil's Book (2014 to 2019 edition), with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 7
Grade 7 PPP Lesson Plans (10 plans)
10 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 7, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 7 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 8
Grade 8 PPP Lesson Plans (12 plans)
12 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 8, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 8 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 9
Grade 9 PPP Lesson Plans (10 plans)
10 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 9, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 9 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 10
Grade 10 PPP Lesson Plans (14 plans)
14 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 10, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 10 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planGrade 11
Grade 11 PPP Lesson Plans (10 plans)
10 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grade 11, each built on a unit and activity in the Grade 11 English Pupil's Book, with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planAdvanced Level
Grades 12 and 13 (A/L General English) PPP Lesson Plans (20 plans)
20 sample 40-minute PPP English lesson plans for Grades 12 and 13 (A/L General English), each built on a unit and activity in the Advanced Level General English textbook (one book for Grades 12 and 13), with the learning outcome, materials, timed stages and homework. One PDF ready to print; an editable Word copy is on the plans page.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planAll grades
Annual and Term Plan Templates, Grades 2 to 13
An annual plan (scheme of work) and a term plan template, with the units of each grade's Pupil's Book listed, ready to fill in with your own dates.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Lesson planAll grades
Daily and Weekly Notes (Record of Work) Templates
Record-of-work forms for daily and weekly notes, with a completed sample entry for each grade.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- CircularAll grades
English Day Circular 10/2025
The Ministry of Education circular for English Day 2025: the events, the age groups, how entries are judged and the dates. This is the document a school's English Day is run against, so read it before planning anything else.
Copyright status: Ministry of Education circular, reproduced for teachers
- CircularAll grades
English Day Circular 2025, Part 1
Part one of the 2025 English Day circular, with the detail of the competitions and what each one requires. Read together with Part 2.
Copyright status: Ministry of Education circular, reproduced for teachers
- CircularAll grades
English Day Circular 2025, Part 2
Part two of the 2025 English Day circular. Much smaller than Part 1, and the quicker of the two to open on a telephone.
Copyright status: Ministry of Education circular, reproduced for teachers
- CircularAll grades
Oratory and Storytelling: amended rules
The amended rules for the oratory and storytelling events. These supersede what the earlier circular says about those two competitions, so check this before a pupil prepares a speech or a story.
Copyright status: Ministry of Education circular, reproduced for teachers
- GuidelinesAll grades
English Day Guidelines (presentation)
A presentation setting out how an English Day is organised, event by event. Useful for briefing a staff meeting or a group of student organisers. It is a large file: open it on a computer rather than a telephone.
Copyright status: Shared for teachers
- Activity PackAll grades
Creative Writing: story skeletons and guidelines
Fifteen story skeletons - The Lost Kitten, The Birthday Surprise, Helping Amma - each with its keywords and outline, followed by guidance on turning an outline into a full story: describing the setting, developing characters, writing dialogue, building the plot and pacing it. Suits O/L story writing as well as the English Day competition.
Copyright status: RCF English material, free to use
- Activity PackAll grades
Creative Writing Story Starters
Fifteen opening lines for creative writing, each paired with the grammar it practises - past perfect, past continuous, reported speech, modals in the past. One page for each prompt, so it prints as a pack.
Copyright status: Compiled by D.K. Kasthuriarachchi
- ScriptAll grades
Play scripts for English Day
Short play scripts of well-known stories - Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, The Little Red Hen, Sleeping Beauty - each with its cast list and a narrator, written for a class to perform. The stories are traditional and out of copyright.
Copyright status: Traditional stories, adapted for the classroom
- GuidelinesAll grades
English Camp Activities Guide
The Central Province English Unit's guide to running a one-day English camp: a suggested timetable from registration at half past seven to the closing group cheer, the objectives, the ground rules the children agree to, the camp oath and songs for the common session, and five activity sessions set out with the materials needed and the procedure for each.
Copyright status: English Unit, Department of Education, Central Province - reproduced for teachers
- Activity PackGrade 8
English Camp Activities: Grade 8
Camp activities for Grade 8, each set out with the time it takes, the learning outcome, the materials needed, the language it focuses on and a step-by-step procedure - so a teacher can run one without having seen it before. It opens with the foreword by the Director of Education (English and Foreign Languages).
Copyright status: Department of Education, Central Province - reproduced for teachers
Books for teachers
RCF Publications produces books written for teachers rather than pupils.
AI for English TeachersSee it in RCF Publications
Let's Talk! Spoken English for the PrimarySee it in RCF Publications