Year 4 The digestive system: explanation writing worksheet

“Explaining step by step” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 4 English unit “The digestive system: explanation writing”, for children aged 8 to 9, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 26 to 27 of the year, 5 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Explaining step by step

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 4 · English · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can spot the features of an explanation text and put its steps in order.

A Look back3 min

1.
Sort these words into nouns and verbs. Write each word under the right heading.
dogrunstreejump
Nouns Verbs
2.
Put these story sentences in order. Number each box 1, 2 or 3.
1. Later, she gets home.
2. Mia packs her bag.
3. She gets on the bus.
3.
Which sentence is written in the present tense? Circle one.
Plants need light to grow.Plants needed light to grow.Plants will need light to grow.

B Watch me, then you5 min

Here is a short explanation about the start of digestion. Read it, then try the two questions below.

A child's breakfast bowl and spoon on a kitchen table

Watch me

First, the teeth break the food into small pieces.

After the food is swallowed, it travels down the oesophagus.

Then the stomach mixes it with digestive juices.

Now you

1.
Which word fits at the start of this sentence? Circle one. ___ the food moves into the small intestine.
Next,Because,Hungry,
2.
Write one sentence about chewing. Start with As or While, and put a comma after that first part.

C Your turn7 min

Read each question, then do what it asks.

1.
Circle the word that fits. ___ you swallow, the food slides down the oesophagus.
AfterUnderBeside
2.
Circle the word that fits. ___ the stomach churns, the food turns into a paste.
WhileYellowHungry
3.
Number these steps so they follow the order food moves through the body. Write 1, 2, 3 or 4 in each box.
1. Then, the intestines take in nutrients.
2. Finally, waste leaves the body.
3. First, we chew the food.
4. Next, the food reaches the stomach.
4.
Write the first sentence of your own explanation of how teeth help you eat. Start with First, and use the present tense.

Say it out loud: Which word tells you when each step happens? Say the order out loud.

D Spot the mistake3 min

Kit says: “An explanation can go in any order, so I'll start with the end.”

1.
Put Kit's three steps in the order food moves. Number each box 1, 2 or 3.
1. Finally, the food leaves the body.
2. First, we chew the food.
3. Next, it travels down the oesophagus.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Write one sentence that explains why the stomach mixes the food. Use because or so.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Explaining step by step · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. Nouns: dog, tree · Verbs: runs, jump

2. 1 Mia packs her bag. · 2 She gets on the bus. · 3 Later, she gets home.

3. Plants need light to grow.

B

1. Next, If your child circled Because, the word gives a reason, not the next step. If they circled Hungry, it describes a feeling, not when the step happens. Ask: which word shows the step that comes after the stomach?

2. Look for: A sentence that starts with As or While, has a comma, and describes chewing or teeth in the present tense. If the sentence does not start with As or While, ask your child to try again. Offer the start As you chew, and let them finish the sentence.

C

1. After Under and Beside tell where something is, not when it happens. Ask your child: which word shows the time that comes before the slide?

2. While Yellow and Hungry are not joining words. Ask your child to read the sentence aloud and find the word that joins the two happening things.

3. 1 First, we chew the food. · 2 Next, the food reaches the stomach. · 3 Then, the intestines take in nutrients. · 4 Finally, waste leaves the body. If the steps are in the printed order, your child has not used the order of the process. Ask: what happens to the food first, in the mouth or the intestines?

4. Look for: A sentence that starts with First, followed by a comma, uses a present-tense verb, and explains a job teeth do when we eat. If your child writes in the past tense, ask what their teeth do every time they eat, then write the verb as it happens now.

D

1. 1 First, we chew the food. · 2 Next, it travels down the oesophagus. · 3 Finally, the food leaves the body. If your child left the steps in the printed order, the end is still first. Ask: which happens first to food, chewing or leaving the body? Explanations follow that order.

E

1. Look for: A true reason for stomach mixing, such as breaking food down more easily, joined with because or so.

Words to use

Say“Read the steps out loud. Which word tells you what comes next?”

Instead of“Tell them the right order straight away and move on.”

After the sheet

Make a four-step explanation of how a seed grows into a plant, using First, Next, Then and Finally. Read it back and check the order.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

4 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Writing an Introduction(with a plan)
Food's first steps(with a plan)
Second section: small intestine(with a plan)
Ending with a summary(with a plan)

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