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
Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Narrative Writing Checklist (Simplified Version)
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their narrative writing.
- Free Plan
Recount Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a recount.
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Cursive Writing - Cursive Alphabet Handwriting Practice Sheets
A set of 6 sheets to practise writing letters in cursive.
- 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.
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Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive and report writing sentence starter cards.
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Making Inferences Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to make inferences with this 31-slide teaching presentation.
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Summarising a Story Graphic Organisers
Use these graphic organisers to help students when summarising a story.
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Sequencing Activity - Dogs Make the Best Pets (Persuasive Text)
A sequencing task using a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
5 Informative Writing Stimulus Sheets
Writing stimulus sheets with an informative text focus.
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Rhetorical Questions Interactive Activity
Explore rhetorical questions with your students using this digital game perfect for your persuasive writing lessons.
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Year 3 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 3 students.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Text Planning Template (Using OREO)
A planning template for students to use when writing a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
Literary Devices Poster Pack
Explore the various literary devices used by authors with the set of colourful classroom posters.
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Dogs Make The Best Pets - Reading Comprehension Test
Assess reading comprehension skills with printable Reading and Writing Comprehension worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
- Free Plan
Bumping-Up Procedure Texts Worksheet
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
A to Z Handwriting Sheets with Upper and Lower Case Letters and Examples
A set of 26 A to Z handwriting sheets with upper and lower case letters and examples.
- Plus Plan
Procedural Writing Prompt Task Cards
Need some procedural writing ideas? Download these task cards to use as a writing activity during your procedure writing unit.
- Plus Plan
Cursive Handwriting Worksheets - Days, Months, Colours, and Numbers
Trace and write days of the week, months of the year, number words, and colour words in cursive.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Sentence Starter Cards
Thirty sentence starter cards for narratives.
- Plus Plan
Fact or Opinion - Turtle Worksheet
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to distinguish between fact or opinion.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about the persuasive text type, including an annotated example.
- Plus Plan
NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Informative Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' informative writing.
- Plus Plan
Let's Get Ready to Rock! – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for the information report from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
- 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
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
5 Persuasive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students through these relevant persuasive writing prompts.
- Plus Plan
Earth Watch – Drowning in Plastic Reading Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a magazine article about plastic pollution in our oceans.
- Plus Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Radio Talk
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 8 years and over.