Year 3 Teaching Resources
Explore printable worksheets, digital activities, games and more Year 3 resources, all aligned to the Australian curriculum! The teacher-created resources have all been designed with primary teachers and students in mind to meet the special needs of children as they transition into the middle years of their primary school education.
Carefully curated and thoroughly reviewed by the expert teachers of the Teach Starter team to ensure they're classroom-ready, our Year 3 resources can save you lesson planning time this school year with editable and differentiated options at the ready.
Teach Starter’s Year 3 resources utilise a vast array of resource types and have something for every learning area. Here's just a taste of what you'll find for your classroom!
- Spelling words and English worksheets
- Fractions activities and Maths worksheets
- Social and emotional learning activities
- Narrative writing stimuli
- Language conventions practice
- And so much more!
Are you new to teaching Year 3? Here's a look at what this year of primary school is all about!
What Is Year 3 in Australia?
Year 3 sits right in the middle of primary school for most students in Australia as the fourth year of compulsory education.
How Old Are Kids in Year 3?
The exact age of students will vary slightly by state (and birthday!), but most children in your Year 3 class will be 8 to 9 years old.
What Do Students Learn in Year 3?
Year 3 is a big one for Australian students. Many will sit the NAPLAN tests, and more than a few will hit double digits before the year is through. This is a big year for Maths between the introduction of more complex fractions and formal multiplication, as well as even more skill-building in other learning areas.
Exactly what they're expected to learn will depend to some degree on the state or territory where you are teaching, but here's a look at what your students can expect to encounter in the key areas of the curriculum!
English
Year 3 students continue to develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in their English lessons. Reading will involve more complex texts, including longer novels, non-fiction texts, and poetry.
Students will also be expected to analyse these texts more deeply, examining themes, character development, and literary techniques. Comprehension skill-building will require deeper analysis of texts and drawing inferences from what is read.
While Year 2 instruction focuses on basic writing skills such as sentence structure and punctuation, this older group of students will move toward more advanced writing skills such as paragraphing, using descriptive language, and organising ideas in a logical way.
Grammar and spelling will also become a greater focus this year, with an emphasis on understanding and applying more complex grammar rules and spelling patterns.
Maths
Fractions feature front and centre of the Year 3 Maths curriculum. Students will learn to identify, compare, and order unit fractions (those being fractions with a numerator of 1), as well as use them in simple problem-solving contexts.
We already alluded to this being a big year for multiplication, and is it ever! Year 3 students learn the basic multiplication facts — such as 2 x 2 = 4 and 3 x 3 = 9 — and they begin to use these facts to solve multiplication and division problems. They also learn to interpret and create simple multiplication and division problems.
Students will have the chance to build upon their understanding of measurement concepts from Year 2, including length, mass, and capacity. They'll learn to measure and estimate using standard units, plus how to compare and order measurements.
Maths students will expand their knowledge of 2D shapes this year, and they will begin to learn about three-dimensional shapes and their properties.
Place value is still a big part of maths, of course. Year 3 students expand their understanding of place value to include numbers up to 10,000, and they learn to read, write, and compare four-digit numbers. They also learn to use place value to solve addition and subtraction problems.
Science
Science instruction in Year 3 is more focused on building a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and their applications, as compared to Year 2. It also emphasises the development of scientific inquiry skills that will help kids become more proficient in conducting scientific investigations and communicating their findings.
Students in Year 3 learn to ask questions, plan and conduct investigations, collect and record data, and communicate their findings as part of their development of science inquiry skills. They spend a portion of the year learning about the characteristics of living things, including plants and animals. Year 3 students will have the chance to explore the life cycles of plants and animals, as well as learning about the needs of living things and their habitats.
While they're learning about things that live on Earth, they're also learning about the planet itself, exploring geological features such as rocks, soil, and minerals. They also explore heat energy and how it can be transferred from one object to another.
Last, but certainly not least, Year 3 students learn about the properties and states of matter, including solids and liquids (gasses are explored later on in primary school).
Humanities and Social Sciences
Building on the foundation set in Year 2, Year 3 HAAS lessons build a deeper understanding of historical events and concepts, as well as exploring the social and economic systems that underpin Australian society.
Students learn about the historical events, people, and places that have shaped Australia's history. They explore the concept of change and continuity over time and learn to use historical sources to investigate the past. Students also study significant cultural events celebrated in our country and how they contribute to Australia's diversity and identity.
Geography instruction will guide students as they learn about the physical and cultural characteristics of places and regions. They'll learn more about the representation of Australia as states and territories, and as Countries/Places of First Nations Australians. Students will also begin exploring Australia's neighbours such as New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.
Civics instruction sees Year 3 students strengthening their understanding of what it means to live in a democratic society. They will draw upon their own personal experiences to examine why rules are important and to discuss how they can be active participants in the communities to which they belong.
Health and Physical Education
With their bodies rapidly changing, Year 3 students learn about the factors that influence their health and wellbeing, including the importance of good nutrition, hygiene, and sleep. They also learn about social and emotional health, including how to manage their feelings, develop positive relationships, and make safe and healthy choices.
In Year 3, there are a number of different types of safety on tap in lessons, including road safety, water safety, and personal safety. They develop an understanding of risk and learn strategies for staying safe in different situations.
Year 3 students also learn about the importance of being active and informed citizens in their community. They learn about the benefits of volunteering and begin to develop an understanding of the responsibilities and rights of individuals in society.
The Arts
In Year 3, students develop more advanced skills in drawing, painting, and other visual arts techniques. This includes studying the elements of art — such as line, shape, colour, and texture — and beginning to use these to create more complex artworks.
In music class, these children are learning all about musical notation and how to read and write simple music, while drama instruction explores different forms of drama, including role-playing, improvisation, and scripted performance. Students get the chance to learn about the elements of drama, such as character, plot, and setting, and begin to use these to create their own dramatic works.
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3D Poppy Craft and Writing Activity
Create a unique Remembrance Day craft with a poppy template and write about the event with reflective writing prompts.
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Informational Text Features: Match It Up!
Download this informational text features game to teach primary school students about the common text features of informational texts.
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Jump Strategy Addition Interactive Activity
Practise using the addition jump strategy with this fun interactive activity.
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Plant Life Cycle Worksheet Pack
Help your students cement their understanding of the plant life cycle with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Life Cycle of a Sunflower Accordion Book
Get crafty and teach your students the stages in the life cycle of a sunflower with a fun accordion book science craft.
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Mindful Colouring - Plant and Flower Colouring In
Pick a pack of flower colouring pages to bring a bit of the outdoors into your classroom.
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Identifying Fractions – Worksheet
Strengthen student understanding of fraction models, how to identify fractions on a number line and determine a fraction of a collection with this free worksheet.
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Mother's Day Card – Mindful Colouring
Print a beautiful card to colour and give to your mum on Mother’s Day.
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Water Cycle Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Boost vocabulary skills and understanding with an illustrated water cycle word wall.
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Water is Life - Instructional PowerPoint
Learn about the importance of water to life on Earth, along with where water comes from, with an instructional slide deck.
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Earth's Rotation and Revolution – Teaching Presentation
Explore the difference between rotation and revolution while learning about the day and night cycle, what causes the seasons to change and more with this teaching presentation.
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The Moon of Planet Earth Worksheet
Engage your students with a high-interest reading passage about the moon with this informative article and accompanying response sheet.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Poster Pack
Display information about the life cycle of a frog with this set of six posters.
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Space-themed Mindfulness Colouring in Pages
Use this space-themed colouring page to celebrate World Space Week or as a brain break activity during class.
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Linking Addition and Subtraction Worksheet
Explore the relationship between addition and subtraction with a fact family worksheet.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 4
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the four times tables.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 3
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the three times tables.
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Creating a Graph Using Digital Technologies
A worksheet that supports students when collecting initial data and creating a digital graph.
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Aboriginal Diggers Crossword Puzzle
A crossword puzzle that teaches students about Aboriginal diggers.
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Map of the Regions of Asia
A map showing the layout, regions and major countries of Asia.
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Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards Task Cards - English
A resource with a complete set of task cards for the English achievement standards for Foundation through to Year 6.
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Timeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People 66 000 BCE to 1788 CE - Banner
A four-page timeline of the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people between 66 000 BCE and 1788 CE.
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Natural Landmarks of Australia - Poster Pack
10 beautifully designed posters about some of Australia's most famous natural landscapes.
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Show Don’t Tell Posters – Character Feelings
Use this set of Show, Don’t Tell posters to help your students describe character emotions through vivid details instead of simple statements.
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Comprehension - Stop Polluting The Ocean
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text.
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Mindfulness Colouring In Sheets - Portrait
A set of 3 mindfulness colouring-in sheets.
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Informative Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' informative writing.
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Money Match-Up Activity (Australian Currency)
An activity to help students recognise Australian coins and their combined amounts.
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Procedural Writing Sequencing Worksheet – How to Wash Your Dog
Use this procedural writing worksheet to teach your students about the importance of sequence in procedure texts.
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Interplay of the Sun, Earth and Moon Poster
A poster showing the interplay of the Sun, Earth and Moon.
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3D Objects Poster Pack
Learn the names and properties of some common 3D shapes with this set of classroom posters.
- Free Plan
Narrative Writing Checklist Pack
Use this narrative checklist pack when teaching your students how to edit their narrative writing.