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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Shopping Catalogue with Worksheet
A shopping catalogue and worksheet to use when working on financial mathematics.
- Free Plan
PEEL Paragraph Structure Poster and Worksheets
Explore the acronym PEEL to help with paragraph technique during persuasive writing lessons.
- Free Plan
Add It In - Draw and Listen Activity
Practise following directions with a free draw and Listen Activity from Teach Starter.
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Place Value Colour by Number Worksheets
Share these place value colour by number worksheets with your students for a fun way to review place value up to the hundred thousands place.
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Information Report Checklists
Use these information report checklists when teaching your students how to edit their informative texts.
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Multiplication as Repeated Addition Worksheet Pack
Strengthen student understanding of multiplication and repeated addition with this worksheet pack designed for year 2 and 3 students.
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Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences – Comprehension Task Cards
A set of comprehension task cards to help students draw conclusions and make inferences when reading.
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Classifying and Sorting 3D Objects Worksheet
Practise classifying and sorting 3D objects based on their attributes with this set of 3 worksheets.
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3D Objects – Interactive PowerPoint Presentation
Explore the names and properties of a range of three-dimensional objects with this comprehensive interactive PowerPoint presentation.
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Pandora's Party Palace – Money Word Problems – Middle Years
Help students apply maths through engaging, real‑world money word problems.
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Predicting Probability Activity Set
Perform the experiments in our predicting probability activity set to give your students practice conducting experiments, predicting outcomes and reflecting on the results.
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Blank Number Lines - Printable
Print a set of open number lines to help you teach a variety of maths skills.
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Narrative Writing Planning Template Pack
Use this narrative writing planning template pack to help your students plan a fantastic piece of writing!
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Blank Graph Template Pack
Construct your own graphs with a printable set of Blank Graph Templates.
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Measuring Length Drawing Challenge Worksheeets
Make learning to use a centimetre ruler fun with an engaging set of Measurement Drawing Challenge Worksheets.
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CM & MM Measurement Worksheets - Year 3
Practise using a ruler to measure in centimetres and millimetres with a pair of printable measurement worksheets.
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Wingaru Kids Reconciliation Week Colouring-In Activities
Inspire students to commit to reconciliation with personalised colouring-in activity that highlights their individual commitments.
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Roll to Create a Creature Game
Roll a die and use the chart to create a creature to include in a Halloween Story or a comic strip.
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Kangaroo Information Report – Writing Project
Get your students to write a kangaroo information report using this fact file, graphic organiser and writing scaffold.
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Sequence an Information Report – Cut and Paste Worksheets
Use these information report examples to teach your students about sequencing facts in a logical order.
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Year 3 Reading Fluency Passages
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 3.
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Telling Time to 5 Minutes - Activity Sheets
Tell time to the nearest five minutes with a pack of printable cut-and-paste telling time activity sheets.
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Persuasive Devices Word Search
Familiarise your students with the most common persuasive devices with a fun word search.
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Jump Strategy for Subtraction – PowerPoint
Teach your students to subtract two-digit numbers using the jump strategy with an instructional teaching presentation.
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Reading Scales – Measuring Mass Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning to read scaled instruments to measure mass.
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Character Profile Template Pack
Explore the personality, appearance, feelings and actions of a character from a narrative with this printable character profile templates.
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Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check Templates
Use our Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check Templates to encourage students to study and practise their weekly spelling words.
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Year 3 Measurement Test - Measuring Length
Assess your Year 3 students' ability to measure length with a Year 3 Measuring Length Test.
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Nouns, Proper Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs and Conjunctions Posters
Enhance student understanding of the 8 parts of speech with these colourful, informative and easily-referenced grammar wall posters.
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3D Object Detective - Worksheet
Explore the properties of some common three-dimensional objects with this printable worksheet.
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Time to the Minute and Elapsed Time – Teaching PowerPoint
Teach telling the time to the nearest minute and calculate elapsed time with this 18-slide PowerPoint for teachers.
- Free Plan
Narrative Plot Structure – Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative texts.