Year 3: what to teach and where to find it.
What the national curriculum asks of this year, which parts of the free course cover it, and a term-by-term path through Level 2, Moving Up English.
Where to start
Level 2: Moving Up English
Level 2 spans Years 3 and 4. We suggest weeks 1 to 18 in Year 3 and weeks 19 to 36 in Year 4. This pacing is our suggestion, not an official one.
If it feels too easy or too hard
Use the placement check, then move up or down a year on this map. Children learning English as an additional language often sit at a different level for speaking, listening, reading and writing: that is normal.
What the national curriculum asks
- Teaching focus moves from decoding towards comprehension, vocabulary and breadth of reading. Pupils should be developing understanding and enjoyment of stories, poetry, plays and non-fiction, and learning to read silently (S1, lower key stage 2).
- Reading comprehension includes using dictionaries to check meanings, retelling myths and legends, drawing inferences, predicting, summarising main ideas, and retrieving information from non-fiction (S1).
- Joined handwriting should be the norm, and fast enough to keep pace with what pupils want to say (S1).
- Spelling: the statutory Years 3 and 4 word list of 100 words, plus the rules in Appendix 1 (S1, S2).
- Grammar terminology for pupils (Year 3 content): preposition, conjunction, word family, prefix, clause, subordinate clause, direct speech, consonant, consonant letter, vowel, vowel letter, inverted commas (S1, Appendix 2).
Summarised in our own words from the official documents listed under Sources. For exact wording, always use the official text.
How the free course covers it
| Spelling | The first half of the Years 3 and 4 statutory words with audio dictation. |
|---|---|
| Grammar | Conjunctions, clauses, prepositions, inverted commas. |
| Writing | Character descriptions, paragraphs in a recount, instructions. |
| Reading | Fiction and fact texts with inference questions; audio stories. |
| Typing | Optional from about age 7 (our suggestion). |
Some strand pages are still being added to the site and will open as they are published. See the full plan for every strand.
Your year, term by term
A suggested path through Level 2. Each week links to the full week on the level page, with lesson outlines and free resources.
School term 1
Level 2, weeks 1 to 6
- Wk 1 Getting to know you againpresent simple and continuous; adverbs of frequency
- Wk 2 Describing peopleWhat's he like? / What does she look like?
- Wk 3 Last weekendpast simple: regular, irregular, questions
- Wk 4 HealthWhat's the matter? should / shouldn't
- Wk 5 Rules at home and schoolmust / mustn't, have to / had to
- Wk 6 Wild animalscomparatives and superlatives
School term 2
Level 2, weeks 7 to 12
- Wk 7 Sports and talentsbe good at + noun / -ing; like + -ing
- Wk 8 How we do thingsadverbs; comparative adverbs (more quickly)
- Wk 9 Food and cookingcountable and uncountable; much / many; some / any
- Wk 10 Around towninfinitive of purpose (to buy...); directions
- Wk 11 People and jobsrelative clauses: who, which, where
- Wk 12 Review and assessmentTerm 1 grammar
School term 3
Level 2, weeks 13 to 18
- Wk 13 Weather and seasonswill / won't for predictions
- Wk 14 Plans and arrangementsgoing to; present continuous for arrangements
- Wk 15 Maybe, maybe notmight / may for possibility
- Wk 16 What were you doing?past continuous
- Wk 17 Suddenly...past continuous + past simple with when / while
- Wk 18 Have you ever...?present perfect for experiences: ever / never
Checks and tests this year
- There is no national English test in Year 3. The national checks in primary school are the phonics check (Year 1, retake in Year 2), the optional key stage 1 tests, the Year 4 times tables check (maths) and the key stage 2 tests in Year 6 (GOV.UK, The national curriculum: key stages 1 and 2). Your school may run its own assessments.
At home
- Read the same chapter book together, taking turns by page.
- Ask 'how do you know?' about what a character feels.
- Practise five spellings a week with look, say, cover, write, check.