The Empty Pot

Name: The Empty Pot
Author: Demi

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

★★★★★ Loved by families

Read the Guiding Questions Find this book →

♥ This book teaches: Integrity. doing what is right when no one is watching.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: Integrity means being honest, and responsible and respectful all the time, whether or not people can see what you’re doing. In short: Do the right thing, even when no one's looking. Summary: A Chinese Emperor creates a task to help him choose his successor to the throne. He gives flower seeds to children who hope to be chosen as the next emperor. The contestants compete to see who can grow the most beautiful flowers for the emperor. Ping, a boy who ordinarily is successful at growing plants, does everything he can to grow the seeds he is given, but nothing grows. Should he take the empty pot to the emperor and admit his failure? Will Ping’s honesty be rewarded or punished? Lesson Objectives:

Because this story shows that honesty is rewarded, students will be more enthusiastic about being honest when they’re tempted to be dishonest.

Guiding Questions:

Why did the emperor decide to have a contest and what was the contest?
Why did Ping think he had a good chance at winning the contest?
What are some of the things Ping did to try to help his seeds grow?
Why was it hard for Ping to go before the emperor?
What did Ping say when the emperor asked him about his pot?
Why didn’t Ping’s seeds grow?
Why did the emperor decide on Ping as his successor?
Have you ever struggled to be honest about something? What happened?
Honesty was rewarded in this story. Have you ever experienced being rewarded for being honest?
Imagine you made a mistake and you tell your parents or teacher about it. Do you think they will be more likely to trust you because you were honest, even though you made a mistake?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Integrity means doing what is right even when no one is watching.

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.