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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Representations of Unit Fractions Poster
Display this free poster in your classroom showing representations of common unit fractions.
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Koala Mindful Colouring Sheet
A koala mindful colouring in sheet.
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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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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 2
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the two times tables.
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Recount Writing Checklist Pack
Use this recount writing checklist pack when teaching your students how to edit their writing.
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Procedural Writing Sequencing Worksheet – How to Wash Your Dog
Use this procedural writing worksheet to teach your students about the importance of sequence in procedure texts.
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Time to the Minute, Duration and Estimating Time Teaching Slides
Practise telling time to the nearest minute, measuring duration and estimating how long activities take with this teaching slide deck.
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Find the Missing Number - Addition and Subtraction Worksheet Pack
Practise finding the missing number using inverse operation strategies.
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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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Brain Break Activity Cards
Give your students a quick brain break with this set of 19 whole-class brain break activity cards.
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Book Week Bookmarks - Free Printable Colouring Bookmarks
Give your students brand new Book Week Bookmarks with our free printable colouring bookmarks template.
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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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Volume and Capacity Definition Poster
Display this volume and capacity definition poster in the classroom to help students identify the main difference between capacity and volume.
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Developing Narrative Writing Skills PowerPoint - Year 3 and Year 4
Teach your students about the structure and language features of narrative texts with an engaging interactive Narrative Writing Teaching Slide Presentation.
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Label the Unit Fraction Worksheets
Label different unit fractions with this set of student worksheets.
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Fraction Robot Template
Build a robot using these fraction shapes for a fun activity to do with your students when learning about unit fractions.
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Differentiated Number Pattern Worksheets for Year 3 and 4
Use this differentiated year 3 maths worksheet to allow students to practise completing number patterns and determining their rules.
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Making Reading Connections Using Comics
Get your students making reading connections with these engaging comics and accompanying worksheets that help students link what they read to their own experiences, other texts and the wider world.
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Multiplication and Division Speed Drill Worksheets – Facts of 4
A set of worksheets to help students develop fast and accurate recall of the four times tables.
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Colour by 2D Shape (Basic and Complex Shapes)
A detailed set of colour by shape activities.
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Recount Writing Word Wall
A set of 30 vocabulary words related to recount writing.
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Writing Procedural Texts Teaching Slides
Use this procedural writing PowerPoint to teach your students about the purpose, structural elements and language features of procedure texts.
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World Map Poster
Teach your students about the continents and countries of the world with this detailed map.
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Exploring Poetry Workbook
Teach your students about all things poetry with this jam-packed poetry workbook created especially for primary school students.
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Middle Years Morning Work PowerPoint
An engaging 77 slide PowerPoint to use in the classroom for independent morning work.
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Narrative Writing Checklist Pack
Use this narrative checklist pack when teaching your students how to edit their narrative writing.
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The Rock Cycle - PowerPoint Presentation
Introduce your students to the types of rocks and how they are formed with an engaging Interactive Rock Cycle PowerPoint.
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Year 3 Word Problems - Additive and Multiplicative Situations Worksheet Pack
Teach real world word problems with this engaging worksheet pack that helps students model additive, multiplicative and division situations.
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Living and Non-Living Things Poster
Highlight the differences between living and non-living things with an illustrative Living vs. Nonliving Things Anchor Chart
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Probability of Everyday Events Sort
Share this probability of everyday events sort with your students to give them hands on practice identifying the likelihood of common events.
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Spelling Worksheets for Any List
Grab these free spelling worksheets for any list and use them to prep your weekly spelling homework with ease!
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Athlete Profile
A worksheet to use in the classroom when writing athlete profiles.