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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Weekly Spelling Words and Activity Grid - Lower Years
20 pages of weekly spelling words, extension words and activities.
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World War One Maps
A set of maps to use in the classroom when learning about WW1.
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Paragraph of the Week PowerPoint - Persuasive Paragraphs
A Paragraph of the Week PowerPoint presentation to use when setting up this writing strategy in your classroom.
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Healthy Foods Word Search
Healthy foods made fun with this Word Search.
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Dot-to-Dot Drawing - Alphabet - Dinosaur
Join the dots and letters to make a picture.
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Unit Fraction Flowers Craft Activity
Construct unit fraction flowers and discover different ways unit fractions can occur.
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Compound Words Crossword Puzzle Pack
Boost vocabulary skills with a pack of printable Compound Word Crossword Puzzles!
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Planets Collaborative Colouring Display
Combine colouring with awareness of the planets and the solar system with this collaborative colouring sheet.
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Elapsed Time Trivia Game
Play an interactive Maths game show to practise telling time and calculating elapsed time.
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Exaggeration and Hyperbole Interactive Activity
Explore hyperbole examples with your students using this digital game perfect for lesson warm-ups or lesson wrap-ups.
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Telling the Time Bingo – Mixed Times
Thirty-two different bingo cards using analogue clocks.
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Types of Insects - Minibeast Fact Cards
Discover facts and features of a variety of insects with a handy set of insect fact cards.
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Telling Time to the Minute – Kaboom Game
Practise telling time to the minute with an exciting game of Telling Time Kaboom!
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Multiplication as Repeated Addition – Interactive Picture Reveal
Help your students understand the relationship between repeated addition and multiplication with this interactive picture reveal.
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Year 3 Sources of Heat Worksheet Pack
Learn all about different thermal energy sources with this set of heat worksheets.
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Free Blank Face Template Pack
Use these free blank face templates to create fun back-to-school art celebrating the individuality and diversity of your new students!
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Match the Arrays Worksheet Pack
Give your students practise matching arrays and multiplication facts with these math worksheets for years 2 and 3.
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Estimation Worksheets (Addition and Subtraction)
Teach your students how to use their rounding skills to estimate sums and differences with these maths worksheets.
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Persuasive Writing Checklist Pack
Encourage self-checking with this set of 7 persuasive writing checklists.
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Plant Growth in Soils – Science Experiment
Explore how plants grow in different types of soil with this science experiment perfect for primary school science lessons.
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Kandinsky Trees - Circle Art Activity
Create seasonal trees in the artistic style of Wassily Kandinsky with a fun Dot Day Art Project!
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Grandparents' Day Handprint Gift Templates
Give grandma and grandpa a special keepsake with fun Grandparents’ Day Handprint Crafts!
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Year 3 Magazine – What's Buzzing? (Issue 3)
Issue 3 of our beautifully designed, 22-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 3 students.
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Desk Pet Habitat Templates
Encourage positive behaviour with printable Desk Pet Habitats for your students to spend their Desk Pet Dollars on!
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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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Working With Fractions Mini Book
Teach your students about partitioning shapes, creating fraction models, fractions on a number line and more with this printable mini book.
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Character Profile - Graphic Organisers
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with a set of differentiated graphic organisers.
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Safe or Unsafe Scenario Task Cards
Discuss safe and unsafe situations with this set of scenario task cards.
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Compare and Contrast Poster
A poster highlighting how to compare and contrast when reading a piece of text.
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3D Object Cafe- Interactive Activity
Practise identifying 3D objects and their properties in multiple ways with this engaging interactive activity.
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Mother's Day Cupcake Craft
Create a keepsake this Mother’s Day with this cute cupcake-themed writing craft activity.
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Australian States, Territories and Capital Cities - Class Display
Brighten up your classroom bulletin boards with a vibrant and informative classroom display about Australia’s states and territories.