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
Explanation Text Writing Task – How Does the Water Cycle Work?
A scaffolded writing task for students to complete when learning about the explanation text type.
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Un- and Dis- Prefixes Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
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Rhyming Poems Poster and Template
Teach your students all about rhyming couplet poems with this classroom poster and accompanying student worksheets.
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Colour by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Prepositions - Owl
Consolidate parts of speech by colouring nouns, verbs, adjectives and prepositions on the owl.
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Homophones Crossword Puzzle
Challenge your students to complete this vocabulary crossword puzzle by completing the sentences with the correct homophone.
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Writing Procedural Texts Teaching Slides
Use this procedural writing PowerPoint to teach your students about the purpose, structural elements and language features of procedure texts.
- Free Plan
Our Solar System Cloze Worksheet
Our Solar System cloze worksheet for your students to complete.
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Compare and Contrast - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
- Free Plan
Word Detective Worksheet - Context Clues
Assign our Word Detective Worksheet to give your students extra practice in using context clues to find the meaning of unfamiliar words.
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Monitoring Comprehension Worksheets
Help students strengthen their reading comprehension skills with this set of differentiated worksheets for monitoring comprehension!
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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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Comprehension Task Cards Summarising
Practise summarising text with these relevant events-based texts.
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Persuasive Devices Crossword
Familiarise your students with the most common persuasive devices with an engaging crossword puzzle.
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Cursive Handwriting Worksheets – Days, Months, Colours and Numbers
Trace and write days of the week, months of the year, number words, and colour words in cursive.
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Common Spelling Rules PowerPoint
Boost your students' spelling skills with an instructional slide deck teaching the different spelling rules.
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Im- and Non- Prefixes Worksheet
Consolidate students' understanding of im- and non- prefixes with a prefix worksheet.
- Free Plan
Strong Verbs Word Wall
Print a set of strong verbs word wall cards to help your students boost their writing skills!
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Narrative Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 3
A visual display for your classroom to help students ‘bump up’ their narrative writing.
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Past, Present and Future Simple Tense Verbs Worksheet
An ad-lib style worksheet where students can add their own simple past, present and future tense verbs.
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Onomatopoeia Poems Poster and Templates
Use this onomatopoeia poem poster and accompanying template to teach your students how to write an onomatopoeia poem.
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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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Spring Is Here Poem – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a poem about the season spring.
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Using Words with Prefixes - Worksheet Pack
Practise using the prefixes Un-, Re-, Mis-, Pre-, Dis-, and In- with a pair of printable prefix worksheets.
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The Story of Gulaga - Comprehension and Activity Worksheet
A comprehension and linked activity based on an Aboriginal Dreaming Story.
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Before, During and After Reading Fiction - Question Prompts
Question prompts and a worksheet to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
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Comprehension - Homework is Unnecessary
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text for lower grades.
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Comprehension - Thunderstorms
A comprehension activity using an information text about thunderstorms.
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Fact File Sorting Activity
Use this fact sorting activity to teach your students about informative writing.
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Improving Persuasive Texts Worksheets
3 pieces of text for students to rewrite in order to make them more persuasive.
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Procedural Recount Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about the procedural recount text type, including an annotated example.
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Examples of Story Settings Teaching Slides
Discover engaging examples of story settings with this teaching presentation that introduces students to ten classic settings in children’s literature.
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Visual Literacy Worksheets
Enhance critical thinking with visual literacy worksheets that guide students to analyse images, infer meaning and explore how pictures tell powerful stories.