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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Horse Mindful Colouring In Sheet
A horse mindful colouring in sheet.
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Using Cardinal Directions – Worksheet
A worksheet to practise using cardinal directions.
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Types of Sentences Posters
Display a set of types of sentences posters to help your students discover various types of sentences.
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Kandinsky Circles Colouring Pages
Introduce your students to the circle art style of Wassily Kandinsky with a set of fun International Dot Day colouring in sheets.
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Compensation Strategy Teaching PowerPoint
Teach your students to use the compensation strategy for addition with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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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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Multiplication Wheel Worksheets
A set of multiplication worksheets to helps students improve their recall of the multiplication tables.
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Dressing Up A Sentence Activity
An activity to help encourage students to add more descriptive language into their sentence writing.
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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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Flip, Draw, Expand! - Place Value Worksheet (5-Digit Numbers)
A worksheet to use when consolidating understanding of place value to tens of thousands.
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Guided Reading Groups - Progress Tracker
Use this resource to track the progress of students during your guided reading groups.
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Multiplication Facts Poster
Multiplication facts from 1 to 12 on one poster.
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Alphabet Handwriting Sheet - 1 Page
Handwriting sheets with the alphabet and some words for students to trace.
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4-Digit Place Value Card Game - Race to 10 000
A fun game for students to play in small groups to consolidate their understanding of adding and subtracting in groups of 10, 100 and 1000.
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Scripts for Readers Theatre – Year 3 and Year 4
Bring your literacy lessons to life with scripts for readers theatre that boost student confidence and improve reading fluency.
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Rounding Large Numbers Worksheet Set
Share this rounding large numbers worksheet set with your students so they can cut-and-paste their way to understanding rounding.
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Persuasive Writing Graphic Organiser Pack
Help students gather their thoughts during persuasive writing with this differentiated set of graphic organisers.
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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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Adding 2-Digit Numbers Worksheet
Practise 2-digit addition with regrouping with this drill and practice worksheet.
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Colouring 2D Shapes Worksheet
A worksheet to consolidate students' understanding of rectangles, squares, circles and triangles.
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Australian States and Capital Cities Map Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when learning about Australian states, territories and capital cities.
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Show Don’t Tell Posters – Character Feelings
Use this set of Show, Don’t Tell posters to help your students describe character emotions through vivid details instead of simple statements.
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Fact Family Maths Blast Off - Addition and Subtraction
Demonstrate an understanding of addition and subtraction fact families with a fun cut and sort activity.
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Persuasive Structure Escape Room – Mission Persuasion!
Teach persuasive structure with this engaging escape-room game that helps students build a series of strong, convincing arguments.
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Greater/Less Than Crocodile Posters
Greater and less than can be easily confused, but Snappy uses visual representation to make it all so much clearer.
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Reading Comprehension Question Stems - Super Six Reading Strategies
Enhance instruction on the six reading comprehension strategies with our printable Reading Comprehension Question Stems Chart Pack.
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Penguin Adaptations - Year 3 Reading Comprehension
Explore the fascinating world of penguins and their adaptations with our set of printable Year 3 Reading Comprehension worksheets.
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Using Persuasive Devices Worksheet
Use this persuasive devices worksheet to help your students create persuasive device examples based on a specific topic.
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Persuasive Device Examples – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Match the persuasive writing techniques with the correct examples using this simple cut-and-paste worksheet perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
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Expanded Notation Dominoes (4-Digit Numbers)
Use this set of dominoes when learning how to match 4-digit numbers written in standard form and expanded form.
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Narrative Plot Structure Diagram
A plot diagram for students to refer to when planning their narrative writing.
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Hundreds Board
A hundreds chart that can be used for a variety of activities.