This engaging Year 1 writing unit from our Real Writing collection explores the lifecycle of a sunflower through a clear and accessible explanation text by published children’s author James Nicol.
Pupils will read the model text, learn key writing skills and produce their own diaries and explanations of plant growth.
All our Real Writing units follow a carefully mapped framework and provide two to three weeks of detailed lesson planning, complete with teacher notes, activity sheets, planning templates and PowerPoint slides.
The model text is available as a PDF in three versions – plain, illustrated and annotated – with annotated and non-annotated presentations to support flexible teaching.
Curriculum links
This unit links directly to Year 1 English objectives while complementing science lessons on plants. Pupils will develop writing skills such as forming compound sentences using and, sequencing with time adverbials and adding suffixes to root words.
Science links include exploring the parts of a plant, observing growth over time and creating a class glossary of technical vocabulary.
English objectives include punctuation, spacing and the use of adjectives, while also revisiting common exception words.
Vocabulary focus
Pupils will work with Tier 2 vocabulary such as centre, feast and surface, and Tier 3 scientific vocabulary including bud, cycle, earth, flower, leaves, petal, plant, pollinate, root, seed, seedling, shoot, soil and stem.
Common exception words (today, the, a, to, is, has, are, some) are practised in context, reinforcing reading and spelling skills.
Key teaching activities
Begin by exploring real sunflowers or images of plants, labelling parts and discussing how plants grow. Pupils will read the model text, identifying features of an explanation, including headings, technical vocabulary, diagrams and time adverbials.
Sequencing activities help pupils organise the lifecycle of a sunflower and orally compose sentences.
Pupils will then plan and write their own explanation texts and diaries, recording observations of a growing plant. They'll practise joining words and clauses with and, sequencing sentences with time adverbials and adding suffixes to root words.
Opportunities to rehearse sentences aloud, leave spaces, use capital letters and full stops and read their work aloud reinforce fluency and confidence.
Resources included
- Model text by James Nicol (PDF and PowerPoint)
- Teacher notes, slides and activity sheets
- Vocabulary cards for Tier 2 and Tier 3 words
- Common exception word cards
- Growing a seed observation sheets
- Writing templates and planning sheets
- Sequencing cards and explanation posters
Pupil outcomes
By the end of this unit, pupils will:
- Write clear, sequenced explanation texts about the lifecycle of a sunflower or another plant
- Use conjunctions, time adverbials, adjectives and suffixes to extend sentences
- Apply scientific vocabulary accurately in context
- Re-read, edit and perform their writing with confidence
This unit develops both literacy and scientific understanding, giving pupils the skills to explain processes clearly while building confidence as writers and observers.