Year 3
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 3 and 4, students experience learning in familiar contexts and a range of contexts that relate to study in other areas of the curriculum. They interact with peers and teachers from other classes and schools in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These encompass traditional oral texts including Aboriginal stories, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, simple chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 3 and 4 as independent readers describe complex sequences of events that extend over several pages and involve unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. These texts use complex language features, including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high-frequency sight words and words that need to be decoded phonically, and a variety of punctuation conventions, as well as illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and expositions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 3, students understand how content can be organised using different text structures depending on the purpose of the text. They understand how language features, images and vocabulary choices are used for different effects.
They read texts that contain varied sentence structures, a range of punctuation conventions, and images that provide extra information. They use phonics and word knowledge to fluently read more complex words. They identify literal and implied meaning connecting ideas in different parts of a text. They select information, ideas and events in texts that relate to their own lives and to other texts. They listen to others' views and respond appropriately using interaction skills.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students understand how language features are used to link and sequence ideas. They understand how language can be used to express feelings and opinions on topics. Their texts include writing and images to express and develop, in some detail, experiences, events, information, ideas and characters.
Students create a range of texts for familiar and unfamiliar audiences. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, asking questions, providing useful feedback and making presentations. They demonstrate understanding of grammar and choose vocabulary and punctuation appropriate to the purpose and context of their writing. They use knowledge of letter-sound relationships including consonant and vowel clusters and high-frequency words to spell words accurately. They re-read and edit their writing, checking their work for appropriate vocabulary, structure and meaning. They write using joined letters that are accurately formed and consistent in size.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Informative Text Checklist - Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their informative texts.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Topic Cards - Lower Grades
A set of persuasive topic cards for lower grades.
- Plus Plan
Writing Sentences in Past, Present and Future Tense Worksheets
Practise verb tense by changing sentences into past, present and future.
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Forms of Poetry Posters with Annotations
A set of 9 annotated posters to use when introducing structured forms of poetry.
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Persuasive Sentence Starters Classroom Display
Help your students begin their persuasive writing with a strong sentence starter.
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Rules for Plurals - s, es, ies, ves
Display the different rules for plurals with a printable plural noun anchor chart.
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Oral Presentation Assessment Rubric
A rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' oral presentations.
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Compare and Contrast - Venn Diagram Template
A template to use when teaching students how to compare and contrast.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Writing Visual Prompts Presentation
A 19 slide teaching presentation containing visual narrative writing prompts.
- Plus Plan
Improving Persuasive Texts Worksheets
3 pieces of text for students to rewrite in order to make them more persuasive.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Elephants
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Compound Words - Word Search Pack
Search, find, and spell compound words with a fun set of Compound Word Word Search Puzzles!
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Treasure Map
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 8 years and over.
- Plus Plan
Informative Texts Writing Scaffold
A scaffolding sheet which can be used to write an informative text.
- Plus Plan
Writing A Persuasive Text Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
I Have, Who Has? Fact and Opinion Game
A whole class game to help students understand the difference between a fact and an opinion.
- Plus Plan
Earth Watch – Drowning in Plastic Reading Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article about plastic pollution in our oceans.
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Pet Rescue
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 8 years and over.
- Plus Plan
Sequencing Activity - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Informative Text)
A sequencing task using an informative text.
- Plus Plan
Informative Paragraphs Sequencing Activity
6 scrambled informative paragraphs for students to sequence in the correct order.
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Cursive Writing Worksheets PDF - Alphabet
Practise writing the alphabet in cursive with a pack of printable cursive alphabet writing worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Making Inferences Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to make inferences with this 31-slide teaching presentation.
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - What's My Pet?
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 6 years and over.
- Plus Plan
Informative Writing - Fact Sorting Activity
A hands-on sorting activity to use when introducing informative writing.
- Plus Plan
Sequencing Activity - Thunderstorms (Informative Text)
A sequencing task using an informative text.
- Plus Plan
Exploring Poetry Workbook
A workbook to help students become more familiar with the genre of poetry.
- Plus Plan
Contractions PowerPoint
A 24-slide editable PowerPoint template about contractions.
- Plus Plan
Label the Non-Fiction Text Features Worksheets
Have your students label text features in non-fiction texts with this set of three differentiation text features worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Inflectional Endings - Spelling with Suffixes Worksheets
Spell words with the inflectional endings -ed, -ing, -s, -es and -ies with a pack of printable practise worksheets covering inflected endings.
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Foiled Robbery
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 8 years and over.
- Free Plan
Phases of the Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Analyse different moon phases and how their visual appearances change over time with this reading comprehension worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Editing Passages PowerPoint for Year 3
A 42 slide editable PowerPoint template containing editing passages with answers.