The Bad Seed

Name: The Bad Seed
Author: Jory John

A story that explores responsibility and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

Read the Guiding Questions Find this book →

♥ This book teaches: Responsibility. owning your choices and their consequences.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: doing what needs to be done without complaining. In short: Do what needs to be done.

Summary: The Bad Seed is proud of being bad. It doesn’t have good manners, and goes out of its way to be disruptive. The Bad Seed used to be happy when it was with its family of seeds. But then one day, it dropped out of its sunflower home and almost became someone’s snack. Eventually, the Bad Seed gets tired of being bad, and decides to try being good. It’s hard to be good all the time, and the seed still makes mistakes, but it decides that “maybe I’m not such a bad seed after all.” Lesson Objectives:

Students gain self-awareness as they discuss the theme of this story. Being good all the time is hard and maybe impossible, but at least we can all try to be good most of the time, and when we make a mistake, we can catch it and try harder the next time.

Guiding Questions:

Was the Bad Seed always bad?
What happened to the sunflower seed after it fell out of the flower?
Why do you think the seed became a Bad Seed?
Do you think it liked being a bad seed? Why or why not?
Do you think you can be happy when you’re doing bad things?
When the Bad Seed tries to change, but makes a mistake and does something bad, does he go back to being bad, or does he try harder to be good?
When you see someone cut in line, lie, or make others feel uncomfortable, how does that make you feel?
If you were around another student who acted like the Bad Seed did in the beginning of the story would you avoid them and try to be a friend to someone who follows the rules? Or do you think you could help them make better choices?
Tell a family member about how the Bad Seed behaved and ask them if they ever knew anyone like the character in the story.
Share about a character in another book that had a hard time being good, but was able to change.

🌿 Virtue Connection: Responsibility means owning what is yours, including your choices.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.

Read-aloud video · Best with headphones

Find this book at your library or bookstore →

Explore more guides for Pre-K & Kindergarten.

Browse all Responsibility guides See all 12 virtues

Responsibility · Family Discussion Guide

The Bad Seed

by Jory John

Guiding Questions

Students gain self-awareness as they discuss the theme of this story. Being good all the time is hard and maybe impossible, but at least we can all try to be good most of the time, and when we make a mistake, we can catch it and try harder the next time.

Guiding Questions:

Was the Bad Seed always bad?
What happened to the sunflower seed after it fell out of the flower?
Why do you think the seed became a Bad Seed?
Do you think it liked being a bad seed? Why or why not?
Do you think you can be happy when you’re doing bad things?
When the Bad Seed tries to change, but makes a mistake and does something bad, does he go back to being bad, or does he try harder to be good?
When you see someone cut in line, lie, or make others feel uncomfortable, how does that make you feel?
If you were around another student who acted like the Bad Seed did in the beginning of the story would you avoid them and try to be a friend to someone who follows the rules? Or do you think you could help them make better choices?
Tell a family member about how the Bad Seed behaved and ask them if they ever knew anyone like the character in the story.
Share about a character in another book that had a hard time being good, but was able to change.

valuesandvirtues.org · Made possible by our supporters

The Bad Seed

Guiding Questions for Parents.

About the Story.

More Responsibility guides.

A Different Pond

A Sack full of feathers

Bravo, Tavo!

But its not my fault!

Explore more guides for Pre-K & Kindergarten.

The Bad Seed

Guiding Questions