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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Topic Sentence Starter Examples Slideshow
Spark creativity with this topic sentence starter examples slideshow that provides your students with writing prompts across three writing genres.
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20 Polygon Puzzles - Addition and Subtraction Pack
Explore addition and subtraction with this fun polygon puzzle pack.
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Identifying Parallel and Perpendicular Lines in Shapes Worksheet Pack
Present this parallel and perpendicular lines in shapes worksheet pack to your students to give them practice identifying attributes of 2D shapes.
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Making Predictions PowerPoint
Use this Making Predictions PowerPoint to engage students in the learning of predicting during reading.
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Editing Sentences – Year 3 Worksheets
Download these Year 3 editing worksheets to get your students identifying and fixing errors in sentences.
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Pronouns Teaching Slides
Use this pronouns PowerPoint presentation to teach your students about some of the most common types of pronouns.
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Minerals and Rocks Picture Cards
Observe, describe, and sort examples of rocks and minerals with a set of printable types of rocks pictures and word cards.
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Genre of the Month - Writing Prompt Grids (Upper)
Introduce your students to a variety of writing genres with our printable genre-specific writing prompt grids.
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Punctuation Worksheets - Lower Primary
Download our no-prep punctuation worksheets to help your students practice their skills with using a variety of punctuation marks.
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Mass Vs Weight Poster
Display this poster to help students remember the difference between weight and mass.
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Two-Digit Addition Using Partitioning – Poster and Worksheet
Teach your students how to use partitioning for two-digit addition with this ice cream-themed poster and worksheets.
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Past Tense, Present Tense and Future Tense Posters
Help your students understand verb tense with this set of past, present and future tense poster examples.
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Apostrophes of Contraction Worksheets
Learn about the apostrophe of contractions with this set of worksheets.
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Building Fractions – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Get your students to build a fraction out of ice cream scoops with this cut-and-paste worksheet perfect for your next fractions lesson.
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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.
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Unit Fraction Interactive Notebook Template
Engage students in a fun unit fraction activity to stick in their maths workbooks using this interactive mini flipbook templates.
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Seasons, Days, & Months of the Year Spelling Worksheet
Spell the days of the week, months of the year, and the four seasons with a printable Spelling Homework sheet.
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Flags of the World Posters
Use this set of 196 posters depicting the flags of the world's nations in the classroom.
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Editable Retro Themed Tote Tray Labels
Get organised with editable and printable classroom labels with a fun, retro theme.
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Inference Comics Worksheets
Use this set of comic strips when teaching your students how to infer information from everyday situations.
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Heat Sources Worksheet - Cut-and-Paste
Explore different types of heat sources with your students using this Heat Sources worksheet.
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Expanded Form Worksheet Pack
Practise expanding 2-digit to 6-digit numbers with this set of 5 worksheets.
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Soil Use in Our School Worksheets
Have students explore how soil is used around the school with this set of four differentiated worksheets.
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Design a Doughnut Persuasive Writing Interactive
Explore persuasive writing with this fun doughnut-themed interactive activity.
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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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Grandparents' Day Writing Prompt - The Very Best Day
Surprise Grandma and Grandpa with a special story telling about the Best Day Ever with a Grandparents’ Day writing prompt.
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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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Right Angle Turn Patterns Worksheet
Teach your students to make shape patterns using right angle turns with this differentiated maths worksheet for Year 3 students.
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Soil Types Poster
Remind your students about the four main types of soil with this Soil Types Poster for your classroom.
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Parts of Speech Colouring Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs)
Use this colour by part of speech worksheet as a fun Autumn activity with your students.
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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!