Explanation Text Writing Unit | Years 3 & 4 | LKS2

Fifteen lessons leading pupils through the features, language and structure of explanation texts, culminating in their own published piece. The fictional product at the centre of the unit - a plant watering robot - gives pupils something concrete to write about without requiring prior subject knowledge. Before writing begins, pupils design their own robot or machine, so their explanation text describes something genuinely theirs. There’s also an option to write about the ladybird robot featured in the example texts.

The unit works well alongside a Science topic on plants or living things and their habitats, or as a standalone writing block.

Three differentiated model texts about a ladybird-shaped plant watering robot run throughout the unit, giving pupils a consistent reference point for features, language and structure. The first ten lessons build knowledge of the text type and develop the sentence-level skills pupils need; the final five move through writing each section of the text, editing and publishing. Differentiated activities and success criteria are included throughout.

Lessons covered:

• Hook lesson: introducing the ladybird robot and its purpose - pupils design their own watering robot or machine
• Questions: pupils answer detailed questions about their robot to generate content for their explanation text
• Creating diagrams with technical language: drawing and labelling diagrams of their robot or machine
• Identifying features of explanation texts using the differentiated model texts provided
• Writing appropriate expanded noun phrases: exploring description suited to explanation texts and practising writing about their robot
• Using prepositions to describe the different parts of the robot clearly
• Writing with fronted adverbials: focusing on fronted adverbials to express time and cause
• Writing with conjunctions: using subordinating and coordinating conjunctions to add information and explain
• Understanding and using bullet points: exploring how they’re used and practising writing lists or adding detail
• Introducing headings and subheadings: using these to plan the explanation text before writing begins
• Writing the introduction and second paragraph: looking at examples and completing a shared write as a class
• Writing the third paragraph: explaining how the machine works
• Writing the conclusion
• Editing: practising with a provided explanation text to edit before revising their own work
• Publishing: producing the final piece, including detailed diagrams

All lesson activities are provided as downloadable PDF files.

A fully sequenced LKS2 explanation text unit - fifteen lessons from hook to published piece, built around a fictional product pupils design themselves.