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
Rhetorical Questions Interactive Activity
Explore rhetorical questions with your students using this digital game perfect for your persuasive writing lessons.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Task Cards - Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
A set of comprehension task cards to help students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading.
- Plus Plan
Contractions PowerPoint
A 24-slide editable PowerPoint template about contractions.
- Plus Plan
Writing Editing Checklist
Now your students can make sure that they check everything when they are editing their work... no mistake gets left behind!
- 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.
- Free Plan
Which Homophone? Worksheets
Download this differentiated homophones worksheet to help your students become more familiar with this tricky vocabulary!
- Plus Plan
Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Inflectional Endings - Spelling with Suffixes Worksheets
Spell words with the inflectional endings -ed, -ing, -s, -es and -ies with a pack of printable practise worksheets covering inflected endings.
- Free Plan
Narrative Text Structure Posters
A set of 8 narrative text structure posters to add to your classroom narrative writing display.
- Plus Plan
Forms of Poetry Posters with Annotations
A set of 9 annotated posters to use when introducing structured forms of poetry.
- Free Plan
Recount Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a recount.
- Free Plan
Reading Fluency Assessment Tool
A user-friendly tool for teachers to test their students' fluency and accuracy.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Devices Sorting Activity
Explore persuasive devices with your students using this set of sorting cards.
- Free Plan
Bumping-Up Procedure Texts Worksheet
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
Homophones Word Searches
Immerse your students in common homophones with this differentiated set of homophones word searches for your vocabulary lessons.
- Plus Plan
Sequencing Activity - Dogs Make the Best Pets (Persuasive Text) - Simplified Version
A sequencing task using a simple persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
Procedure Texts Writing Scaffolds
Use this procedural writing scaffold to guide your students towards writing high-quality procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
I Have, Who Has? Fact and Opinion Game
A whole class game to help students understand the difference between a fact and an opinion.
- Free Plan
Speaking and Listening Activities Task Cards
A set of 13 cards with instructions for speaking and listening activities.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Writing Checklist (Simplified Version)
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their narrative writing.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Task Cards Summarising
Practise summarising text with these relevant events-based texts.
- Plus Plan
Poetic Devices PowerPoint
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when introducing students to poetic devices.
- Plus Plan
How to Make a Paper Plane – Procedural Writing Worksheet
Explore how to make a paper plane while your students fine-tune their procedural writing skills.
- Plus Plan
Let's Get Ready to Rock! – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for the information report from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
- Plus Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Return of the Three Bears
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 6 years and over.
- Plus Plan
Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive and report writing sentence starter cards.
- Plus Plan
Introduction to Narrative Features PowerPoint - Year 3 and Year 4
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the features of narrative texts.
- Plus Plan
Contractions Worksheet Pack
A set of 4 worksheets to use when teaching contractions.
- Plus Plan
Procedural Writing Prompt Task Cards
Need some procedural writing ideas? Download these task cards to use as a writing activity during your procedure writing unit.
- Plus Plan
Common Spelling Rules PowerPoint
Boost your students' spelling skills with an instructional slide deck teaching the different spelling rules.
- Free Plan
Vocabulary Building Template – Verbs
Expand verb vocabulary with this open-ended task.
- Plus Plan
Biography Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about the biography text type, including an annotated example.