Y05W34PA - How Plants Grow

This week you wrote an explanation of how plants grow for young readers. Now you'll read another student's writing and decide how strong it is. Looking at someone else's work helps you spot moves you can use in your own.

Part 1

The Assessor Scorecard for

Explanatory – Explanation text

Markers look for writing that makes a process clear for the reader. Check each strand below to see what strong work looks like.

Ideas & Content

Facts that fit the reader — not too hard, not too simple. No extra facts that pull the reader off track. Each sentence helps the reader understand the process.

  • Purposeful facts: facts picked on purpose to suit what the reader needs to know.

Structure & Cohesion

A clear opening that names the topic. Steps in an order the reader can follow. Linking words between ideas — no jumps or repeats.

  • Clear introduction: a clear opening that names the topic, then ideas in order.

Audience & Purpose

Words a five-year-old would know. Detail that matches what young children can picture. No big science words without a quick explanation.

  • Appropriate vocabulary: words and detail that match what the reader can follow.

Language Choices

Exact verbs that show the process — grow, hold, soak. Clear pictures, not vague words. Descriptions a young child could imagine.

  • Concrete precision: exact verbs and clear pictures that make the process easy to see.

Conventions

Spelling and grammar that don't trip the reader up. A pattern of mistakes lowers the mark — one or two does not. Clean sentences keep the reader following the steps.

  • Accurate construction: correct spelling and well-built sentences throughout.

Part 2

Today’s Marking Targets

Task in one sentence

Write a clear explanation of how plants grow for kindergarten-aged children.

Let’s Focus

Two strands matter most this week: Ideas & Content and Structure & Cohesion. You must pick the right facts for very young readers. You must also put those facts in an order they can follow.

Ideas & Content

Strong writing this week picks facts a five-year-old can see or feel — roots holding the plant, water going in, sun helping it grow. Skip hard ideas like photosynthesis that young children can't picture.

What markers scan for

  • Each fact helps a five-year-old understand plant growth.
  • Facts are things a young child can see or feel.
  • No hard science words like photosynthesis.
  • The big idea — sun, water, soil — comes through clearly.

Score Bands

  • Basic

    Facts are correct but some don't suit young readers.

  • Strong

    Three clear facts suited to what young children can picture.

  • Excellent

    Three exact facts that work together for young children.

Structure & Cohesion

Strong writing this week opens with the topic, then gives three points in an order that makes sense. A parent should be able to read it out loud and have it flow as one whole.

What markers scan for

  • A clear opening that names the topic.
  • Three key points in an order that makes sense.
  • Linking words between each point.
  • A close that ties the ideas together.

Score Bands

  • Basic

    Some order is there but points don't link smoothly.

  • Strong

    Clear opening and three points in a logical order.

  • Excellent

    Clear opening and three points that flow as one whole.

Now read · Student sample

How Plants Grow

Year 5 sample · ~150 words

Student sample for assessment

Written by a Year 5 student in Blackburn, Victoria, Australia.

How Plants Grow

Plants are living things that grow in the ground. This is how it happens.

First, a seed needs sun. The sun is very important. Seeds need sun. Plants need sun to grow big. The sun helps plants get strong. If there is no sun, the plant cannot grow.

Second, plants need water. You must water them. Plants like water. If you give them water, they grow. Water is good for plants. Plants cannot live without water.

Third, plants need soil. The soil is where the plant sits. Soil is brown dirt. Plants need soil to keep them in the ground. The soil holds the plant.

When you have all three things—sun and water and soil—the plant will grow. The sun and water and soil make the plant big. Every day the plant gets bigger. Then your plant is grown up. If you give it sun and water and soil, it will always grow.