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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Chance Worksheets - Year 2
2 chance worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Multiplication and Division Bingo
Practise fact families with our multiplication and division bingo resource that offers two different ways to play!
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Differentiated Volume of Rectangular Prism Worksheet Set
Differentiate instruction with this volume of rectangular prism worksheet set that offers three levels of volume problems.
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Blank Comic Strip Templates
Print blank comic book templates created by teachers to help students write their own comics.
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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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Mindfulness Colouring Tree (National Tree Day)
A tree mindful colouring in sheet to focus attention on National Tree Day.
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Developing Report Writing Skills Teaching Slides
Use this slide deck to teach your students about the purpose, structural elements and language features of information reports.
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Persuasive Writing Examples and Analysis Worksheet
Use these persuasive writing examples to teach your students how purpose, structure and language features work together in strong persuasive texts.
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All About Insects - Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack (3-4)
Learn all about insects and their body features with a printable All About Insects Reading Comprehension Worksheet pack for Years 3 and 4.
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Addition Fact Maths Drills & Progress Trackers
Assess and track addition fact fluency with a printable Number Fact Fluency pack.
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Multiplication Fact Fluency System (Facts 0-12)
Implement this multiplication fact fluency system to help your students master their multiplication facts from 0 to 12!
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Number Patterns Year 3 and 4 Worksheet Set
Share our number patterns year 3 worksheet set with your students to give them practice with number patterns and algebraic relationships.
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What Are The Odds? Digital Chance Game
Introduce your students to the concepts of probability and chance with an interactive ‘What Are The Odds?” Active Game?
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Fact File and Report Writing Scaffold Pack
Teach your students to write informative texts using this selection of animal, object and occupation fact files.
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Telling Time to the Nearest Minute Test
Assess your student's abilities to tell time to the nearest minute with a Telling Time to the Minute Unit Test for Year 3.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Finding The Main Idea
A set of comprehension task cards to help students find the main idea when reading.
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Daily Maths Word Problems – Year 3
A set of 20 problem solving questions suited to year 3 students.
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2D Shapes and 3D Objects – Worksheets
Focus on drawing 2D shapes and describing 3D objects with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Phonics Sound Wall Display
Build a classroom sound wall to match your phonics programs and literacy progressions with a printable sound wall display.
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Immigration Worksheets - Year 4-5 Reading Comprehension Pack
Use our differentiated Immigration Worksheets to introduce your students to the concept of immigration and the reasons why people migrate to new countries.
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Mass Mystery Escape Room
Explore the different elements of mass with this super fun and engaging escape room resource.
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Time Knockout Game - Telling Time to The Minute Year 3
Practise telling time to the minute by reading analogue and digital clocks with this competitive whole-class telling time game.
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It's About Time! Introduction to Time PowerPoint
Introduce your students to the concepts and history of time and for investigate the relationship between units of time with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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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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What Are Natural Resources? PowerPoint
A teaching presentation that explores what natural resources are and where they come from.
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Multiplication and Division Word Problems Task Cards (Facts of 2, 5 and 10)
Use a range of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems with 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
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World Map with Countries - Black and White
Teach your students about the continents and countries of the world with this black-and-white world map.
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Types of Poetry Posters with Annotations
Use this set of 9 annotated posters when introducing structured forms of poetry to your students.
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Chance Worksheets - Year 3
2 chance worksheets linked to the Australian Curriculum.
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Measuring the Area of a Robot with Informal Units Worksheet
A worksheet to use when measuring area with informal square units.
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Past Tense Verbs Worksheets
Use these past tense verbs worksheets to help your students identify and use past tense verb forms in a variety of contexts.
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Rounding to Estimate Worksheet Set
Use our rounding to estimate worksheet set to sharpen number sense and mental maths skills.