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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Fluency Assessment Tool
Use our fluency assessment tool to gauge your students’ oral reading fluency, speed, accuracy and more.
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Coin Toss Probability Worksheet
Engage your students with this coin toss probability worksheet that guides them through a hands-on probability activity.
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Free Wanted Poster Template Pack
Use a 'Wanted' poster template pack to encourage your students to research and write about historic figures and more!
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Rounding Activity (Warm-Up Teaching Slides)
Use this digital rounding activity to review rounding numbers to the tens, hundreds and thousands place.
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Solids, Liquids and Gases PowerPoint
Teach your students about matter with a Solids, Liquids and Gases PowerPoint.
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Length Vocabulary Poster Pack
Explain the concept of length and review related vocabulary with a printable measurement anchor chart.
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Visual First-Then Schedule for the Classroom
Communicate a sequence of events with this visual first-then board and set of 48 picture cards.
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Contractions Worksheet Pack
Help students learn more about contractions with this contraction worksheet pack.
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Telling Time Test - Nearest 5 Minutes
Assess your student's abilities to tell time to the nearest five minutes with a printable telling time assessment.
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Time to 5 Minutes - Digital Learning Activity
Review how to tell time to the nearest five minutes with an independent Telling Time Digital Learning Activity.
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What Is Resilience? Teaching Slides
Teach your students the meaning of resilience with this age-appropriate slide deck perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Skip Counting and Multiplication Differentiated Worksheet
Use this differentiated worksheet set to provide independent practise using skip counting to solve multiplication expressions.
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Gratitude Tree and Leaves Template
Create a gratitude tree display with a printable tree and leaves template.
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Finding the Area of 2D Shapes Poster
Display this math poster showing the area formula for different 2D shapes during your space and measurement lessons.
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5 Persuasive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students through these relevant persuasive writing prompts.
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Make a Monster - Art Activity Template
Make a spectacularly fun monster with a printable Monster Craft Template.
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Kindness Word Search
Download a printable word search about kindness to explore this important aspect of social awareness with your students.
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Jump Strategy Addition Interactive Activity
Practise using the addition jump strategy with this fun interactive activity.
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Compensation Strategy for Subtraction - Teaching Slides
Teach your students to use the compensation strategy for subtraction with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Map Skills Teaching Presentation
Teach basic map skills to younger students with this visually appealing and age-appropriate teaching presentation.
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Identifying Descriptive and Figurative Language Worksheets
Help your students identify descriptive and figurative language in narrative texts with this set of colour-coding worksheets.
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Fraction Strips
Print a set of fraction strips for the classroom! Keep the handy maths manipulative on hand for fraction games, showing equivalent fractions and more!
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3D Object Astronaut Template
3D object nets to create an amazing astronaut!
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Same Perimeter, Different Area Word Problems – Worksheet
Practise solving multi-step word problems involving objects that have the same perimeter but different areas.
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Colour by Number - 2 x Multiplication Facts
An engaging activity to consolidate your students' understanding of multiplication facts.
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Split Class/Fast Finisher Booklet Front Cover - School Supplies Theme
A front cover that can be used to make a split class or fast finisher booklet.
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Capacity Vocabulary Poster
A poster that explains the concept of capacity and lists associated vocabulary.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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The Australian Aboriginal Flag Poster and Worksheet
Print this Australian Aboriginal Flag poster and worksheet for your classroom.
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Sentence Structure Practice Interactive Activity (Middle Primary)
Use this interactive quiz to review key sentence structure concepts with your Year 3 and 4 students.
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Hundreds Board Mystery Picture Addition Task Cards
A set of 32 activity task cards that require students to complete addition problems and colour in a hundreds chart to reveal a mystery picture.
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Types of Graphs Posters and Worksheets
A collection of posters displaying the different types of graphs along with matching worksheets to assist students with laying out graphs on the page.