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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Grid Paper - 1cm
A precise, 1cm grid sheet.
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Identifying Unit Fractions Interactive Clip Cards
Explore unit fractions in a variety of contexts with this set of interactive clip cards.
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Elapsed Time Word Problems Game
Practise solving elapsed time word problems with an interactive Year 3 maths game.
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Elapsed Time Riddle Worksheets
Calculate elapsed time to solve the riddles in this printable pack of elapsed time practice worksheets.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of free Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Years 3-5.
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Subordinating Conjunctions Worksheet
Use this worksheet to enable students to practise identifying and constructing sentences using subordinating conjunctions.
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Resilience or Not? Interactive Sorting Activity
Explore examples of resilience by playing this interactive sorting game perfect for your social-emotional learning lessons.
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Label the Non-Fiction Text Features Worksheets
Have your students label text features in non-fiction texts with this set of three differentiation text features worksheets.
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Large Multiplication Chart (Blank)
Use this 4-page blank multiplication chart to teach your students about finding products, multiples and number patterns.
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Estimation With Addition and Subtraction Task Cards
Supercharge your students’ maths skills with this set of task cards designed to help them master estimating sums and differences of whole numbers using rounding and compatible numbers.
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My Personal Identity Teaching Slides (What Makes Me Me?)
Explore what makes each student an individual and help them explore their own identity with this set of teaching slides.
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Which Homophone? Worksheets
Download this differentiated homophones worksheet to help your students become more familiar with this tricky vocabulary!
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Rounding to the Nearest 100 Worksheet
Help your students find the correct bone for each dog by rounding to the nearest hundreds place with this maths worksheet designed for year 2 and 3 students.
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5 Persuasive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students through these relevant persuasive writing prompts.
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Angles in the Environment Worksheet
Help your students identify acute, right and obtuse angles in the environment with this differentiated worksheet.
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Plant Life Cycle Passage and Graphic Organiser
Give your students an opportunity to sequence the life cycle of a plant with a reading passage and worksheet.
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Desk Pet Habitat Templates
Encourage positive behaviour with printable Desk Pet Habitats for your students to spend their Desk Pet Dollars on!
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The Relief Teacher Monster - Halloween Craft and Write
This Halloween, inspire your struggling writers to write toe-curling tales of a day spent with a Relief Teacher Monster!
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Types of Graphs Posters
Show students the varying data displays they will encounter in their primary maths lessons with these colourful and easy-to-digest visual posters.
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Subtraction Using the Split Strategy - Teaching Slides
Demonstrate using the split strategy for subtraction with an instructional slide presentation.
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Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
Teach your students how to identify the main idea of a piece of text with this worksheet pack.
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Jump Strategy Addition Game
Practise using the jump strategy for multi-digit addition with a fun maths game.
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Mother's Day Brochure Activity
Express your love and gratitude for someone special on Mother’s Day with this brochure template.
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The World's Five Oceans - Teaching Presentation
Explore the world’s five oceans with this comprehensive teaching presentation.
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Mother's Day Printable Vouchers
Give mum a booklet of fun coupons this Mother's Day.
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Mars vs. Earth - Differentiated Paired Passage Worksheets
Learn about the planets with differentiated compare and contrast passages, activities and writing opportunities.
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Map of Australia - Labelling Activity
Discover and label Australia's states, capital cities and key landmarks on this blank map.
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Fractions on a Number Line – Differentiated Worksheets
Practise plotting and counting by fractions on a number line with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Differentiated Number Pattern Worksheets for Year 3
Use this differentiated year 3 maths worksheet to allow students to practise completing number patterns and determining their rules.
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Column Graphs – Teaching Presentation
Learn all the features and how to construct a column graph with this 25-page teaching presentation.
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Printable Angle Maker Template
Create and classify some angles with this hands-on printable that is super fun to use.
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All About My Mum - Worksheet
Describe what they love about their mother, aunt, or grandmother with this fill-in-the-boxes worksheet.