How to Grow a Bean Plant in a Jar — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 3 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Year 3 · English · Reading Comprehension
How to Grow a Bean Plant in a Jar — Reading Comprehension — Answers
How to Grow a Bean Plant in a Jar
Read the whole procedure first. Notice the list of materials, the numbered steps and the explanation at the end.
You do not need a garden to watch a plant grow. With a jar and some paper towel, you can see roots and shoots appear in days.
You will need:
a clean glass jar
paper towel
3 dried beans (broad beans or butter beans work well)
water
a sunny windowsill
What to do:
1. Fold the paper towel and push it into the jar so it presses against the glass all the way round.
2. Pour in a little water. The paper towel should be damp, not swimming. Tip out any extra.
3. Slide the beans between the paper towel and the glass, about halfway down the jar. Space them out so they are not touching.
4. Put the jar on a sunny windowsill.
5. Check the jar every day. If the paper towel feels dry, add a few drops of water.
6. After three to five days you should see a small white root pushing out of each bean. A few days later a green shoot will grow upwards.
7. When the shoot has two leaves, carefully move the bean to a pot of soil and keep watering it.
Why it works: A bean is a seed. Inside it is a tiny plant and a store of food. Water tells the seed it is time to grow. Because the bean is pressed against the glass, you can watch what usually happens hidden under the soil.
Safety note: Never eat dried beans. Wash your hands after touching them.
Part A — Find the answers
Look back at the procedure to find each answer.
Answer: Three.
- Ain the fridge
- Bin a dark cupboard
- Con a sunny windowsill
- Doutside in the rain
Answer: on a sunny windowsill
Step 4 says to put the jar on a sunny windowsill.
Answer: Between the paper towel and the glass, about halfway down the jar.
Answer: A small white root pushing out of each bean.
- Astraight away
- Bwhen the root appears
- Cwhen the shoot has two leaves
- Dafter one day
Answer: when the shoot has two leaves
Step 7 says to move it 'when the shoot has two leaves'.
Answer: Wash your hands.
Part B — Think about it
The procedure does not tell you these answers directly. Use clues and what you know.
Answer: The seed needs water to start growing, but too much water could make it rot or stop it getting air.
Answer: So you can see the roots and shoots growing. Normally this happens hidden under the soil.
Answer: So each bean has its own space to grow roots and shoots without getting tangled with the others.
Answer: Step 5, checking every day. If the paper towel dried out, the bean would have no water and would stop growing.
Part C — Words in the procedure
- Acompletely dry
- Ba little bit wet
- Cdripping wet
- Dfrozen
Answer: a little bit wet
Damp means slightly wet.
- Aa type of seed
- Bthe new green stem that grows up from a seed
- Ca kind of water
- Dthe glass jar
Answer: the new green stem that grows up from a seed
The text says 'a green shoot will grow upwards'.
Answer: Put gaps between the beans so they are not close together.
Part D — Your turn
Model answer: How to feed a goldfish. You will need: fish food, a goldfish in a tank. 1. Open the fish food container. 2. Take a small pinch of flakes between your fingers. 3. Sprinkle the flakes on top of the water. 4. Watch the fish eat. Do not add more food, even if the fish looks hungry. 5. Close the container and put it away.
Success criteria:
- A title that starts with 'How to'
- A list of what you need
- At least four numbered steps in the correct order
- Each step starts with an action word (open, pour, fold)
- Includes a tip or warning
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
Great work. Here's what to try next: