The Tiny Seed

Name: The Tiny Seed
Author: Eric Carle

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

★★★★★ Loved by families

Read the Guiding Questions Find this book →

♥ This book teaches: Cooperation. choosing the group over the self.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition of Cooperation for 4 - 7 year olds: Cooperation happens when two or more people help each other to make something good happen. It can also apply to animals or parts of a whole that need each other and work together. An example of this is the human body – all the parts work together to make you healthy. In a nutshell: Together we can do more. Summary: The tiny seed survives many different challenges along the way of becoming a full-grown gigantic flowering plant. What helped it grow so fantastically? Gifts from nature - the sun, rain, and soil supplied it with what it needed to become such a marvelous plant. Eventually, the wind came and blew the seeds far and wide. Some of its seeds will survive and become plants, and the cycle begins again. Lesson Objectives:

Students demonstrate knowledge about the life cycle of a flowering plant - they understand that cooperation among elements of nature makes it possible. They are able to compare cooperation within nature to interdependence within human society.
This story can be an opener to a simple lesson on the life cycle of a plant.

Guiding Questions:

What happens to seeds in the season of autumn?
Why can’t the seeds that land on the desert grow?
Who likes to eat seeds?
In the spring, the plants get what they need to grow? What do they need?
What happens to the small plant in the summer?
When autumn comes again, what happens to the giant flower?
Just like the sun and the rain help the plants grow, what are some ways that humans help each other?
Nature takes care of plants. How do you take care of yourself?
How do members of your family take care of each other?
How does everyone take care of each other at school?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Cooperation means choosing to contribute to something larger than yourself.

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.