Year 3
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 3 and 4, students experience learning in familiar contexts and a range of contexts that relate to study in other areas of the curriculum. They interact with peers and teachers from other classes and schools in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These encompass traditional oral texts including Aboriginal stories, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, simple chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 3 and 4 as independent readers describe complex sequences of events that extend over several pages and involve unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. These texts use complex language features, including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high-frequency sight words and words that need to be decoded phonically, and a variety of punctuation conventions, as well as illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and expositions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 3, students understand how content can be organised using different text structures depending on the purpose of the text. They understand how language features, images and vocabulary choices are used for different effects.
They read texts that contain varied sentence structures, a range of punctuation conventions, and images that provide extra information. They use phonics and word knowledge to fluently read more complex words. They identify literal and implied meaning connecting ideas in different parts of a text. They select information, ideas and events in texts that relate to their own lives and to other texts. They listen to others' views and respond appropriately using interaction skills.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students understand how language features are used to link and sequence ideas. They understand how language can be used to express feelings and opinions on topics. Their texts include writing and images to express and develop, in some detail, experiences, events, information, ideas and characters.
Students create a range of texts for familiar and unfamiliar audiences. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, asking questions, providing useful feedback and making presentations. They demonstrate understanding of grammar and choose vocabulary and punctuation appropriate to the purpose and context of their writing. They use knowledge of letter-sound relationships including consonant and vowel clusters and high-frequency words to spell words accurately. They re-read and edit their writing, checking their work for appropriate vocabulary, structure and meaning. They write using joined letters that are accurately formed and consistent in size.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Task Cards - Finding The Main Idea
A set of comprehension task cards to help students find the main idea when reading.
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How to Make a Milkshake – Procedural Writing Worksheet
Explore how to make a milkshake while your students fine-tune their procedural writing skills.
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True or False? Active Listening Exercises
Improve listening skills in the classroom with an engaging True or False Active Listening Activity.
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Vivid Verbs Poster Pack
Teach your students to omit boring, overused verbs from their writing with a classroom set of vivid verb posters.
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5 Information Report Writing Prompts
Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.
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The Egyptian Pyramids - Comprehension Task
A 2 page comprehension task for students to use in the classroom when learning about the Egyptian pyramids.
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Author's Purpose Worksheet Set
Assess reading comprehension by using this comprehensive Author's Purpose Worksheet Set.
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The Parts of a Letter Interactive Activity
Teach the parts of a letter with this engaging interactive activity where students learn the format of a letter through sorting and labelling exercises.
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Making Predictions Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack
Improve students' reading comprehension with our Making Predictions Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack, which features engaging short stories.
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Year 3 Vocabulary Word of the Week PowerPoint
A 40 slide PowerPoint Template for introducing new Year 3 vocabulary words.
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Biography Poster Project Cut-Outs
Download this biography poster project containing engaging cut-outs that help students design an eye-catching and informative display about a person of their choice.
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Simple and Compound - Roll a Sentence Dice Game
Play a ‘Roll-a-Sentence’ dice game to help your students practise writing simple and compound sentences.
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Editing Sentences – Year 3 Worksheets
Download these Year 3 editing worksheets to get your students identifying and fixing errors in sentences.
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Great White Shark Information Report – Writing Project
Get your students writing a great white shark information report using this age-appropriate fact file and writing scaffold.
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Information Report Checklists
Use these information report checklists when teaching your students how to edit their informative texts.
- Plus Plan
How to Make a Pizza Interactive Activity
Use this “How to Make a Pizza” procedural writing interactive activity to model the purpose, structural elements and language features of procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
Cursive Alphabet Worksheets – Letter Groups
Use printable cursive writing worksheets PDF files to learn how to write in cursive.
- Free Plan
Which Homophone? Worksheets
Download this differentiated homophones worksheet to help your students become more familiar with this tricky vocabulary!
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Persuasive Device Examples – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Match the persuasive writing techniques with the correct examples using this simple cut-and-paste worksheet perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
- Free Plan
PEEL Paragraph Structure Poster and Worksheets
Explore the acronym PEEL to help with paragraph technique during persuasive writing lessons.
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Word Building Bricks - Prefixes, Suffixes and Roots
Build, read and write multi-syllable words using prefixes, suffixes and base words with a fun word-building literacy activity.
- Plus Plan
Suffix Mini Anchor Charts
Give your students a visual reminder of the meanings of 28 affixes with a printable set of miniature suffix anchor charts.
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Example of a Formal Letter with Template
Use this example of a formal letter featuring the Big Bad Wolf’s humorous apology to the Three Little Pigs to teach letter structure in an engaging way.
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Persuasive Texts Writing Scaffold
A one page scaffolding sheet which can be used to write a persuasive text.
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Inference Real Estate Advertisements - Worksheet
A series of real estate advertisement worksheets to use when teaching your students how to infer information from written texts.
- Free Plan
Paralympic Sports – Inquiry-Based Project
Have your students investigate the different types of Paralympic sports with this inquiry-based learning project.
- Free Plan
Making Predictions from Sentences Worksheets
Practise making predictions with sentences using this set of making predictions worksheets.
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Prediction in Reading Comprehension Task
Help students to engage with prediction during reading with this predictions in reading comprehension task.
- Free Plan
Free Contractions Student Reference Sheet
Help students remember the different contractions with this contraction student reference sheet.
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Compound Word Worksheets - Upper Years
Boost your students' vocabulary knowledge with printable Compound Word Worksheets for upper years.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Task Cards Summarising
Practise summarising text with these relevant events-based texts.
- Plus Plan
Seasons, Days, & Months of the Year Spelling Worksheet
Spell the days of the week, months of the year, and the four seasons with a printable Spelling Homework sheet.