The Tiny Seed
by Eric Carle (1987)
Science-Literacy Teacher Guide
Major themes for this book  the needs and differences of seeds and plants:
 Survival – Living things have structures and behaviors the help
them get what they need (seed mobility, sprouting, plant growth).
 Ecosystem – Nonliving and other living things can help or
threaten survival.
 Life Cycle – There are differences among offspring that can
help or hurt their survival.
Science Standards (EALR 4):
LS1 – Living Systems
LS2 – Ecosystems
LS3 – Biological Evolution
1st: Use after FOSS Air & Weather
 LS1F – Explain that most plants get water through roots and gather light through leaves.
 LS2B – Describe how the habitat provides the basic needs of living things living there.
 LS3A – Use logical rules to sort objects into “living” and “not living.”
 LS3C – Use external features & behaviors of animals to compare or sort them into groups.
2-3:
 LS1A – Describe the life cycle of a common animal. [Going from one generation to another].
 LS2A – Identify 4 ways that an ecosystem supports the basic needs of living things that live there.
 LS3A – Give examples of variations among individuals in a population (e.g. coloration, size).
 LS3B – Compare features of offspring that resemble parents, and features that are different.
 LS3C – Predict how differences might help an individual plant/animal survive better than another.
4th: Use anytime in 4th grade  struggle for survival
 LS1C – Give example of how a plant or animal responds to its environment.
 LS2A – Identify the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
 LS2B – Explain that plants make their food, while animals get food by eating plants or animals.
 LS2E – Describe how one population may affect another (plant or animal) in the ecosystem.
 LS3A – List reasons why some populations in an ecosystem may not do as well as others.
 LS3B – Explain that living things inherit (from parents) characteristics that allow them to survive.
6th: Use with FOSS Environments
The Tiny Seed
by Eric Carle (1987)
Science-Literacy Teacher Guide
Pre-Reading
1. Reveal students’ initial ideas about seeds and their needs:
 “A flower makes many seeds. What helps some seeds to become
plants, but other seeds not to become plants?”
2. Collect & chart students’ ideas. Probe them for how they know (or think
they know) these things.
Our Ideas about Seeds Becoming Plants
I Know
I Think
I Know
How I Know
(or think I know)
Questions We Have
About SeedsPlants
Needs of Sprouting Seeds:
3. Collect and chart questions that students have about the needs and
differences of seeds and plants … especially in these categories:
Needs of Growing Plants:
Differences among Plants:
Post-Reading
1. Guide student discussion  add/change their initial ideas; answer
their questions:
 “What did the story add to what we know about seeds becoming plants?”
 “Which of our questions got answered?”
2. Collect and chart new questions that students have about the needs and differences of seeds and
plants…same 3 categories as before.
3. Use online research to address student questions:
 (text + pictures) Alfalfa seed/plant growth  http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hay/r648w.htm
 (video) Plants germinating in light & dark 
http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/arabidopsis/atgermination.html
 4th grade (online simulations & Concord Consortium) Virtual Field 
http://www.concord.org/activities/virtual-field
Literacy Strategies
 Finding evidence in the story that supports or challenges students’ initial ideas.
The Tiny Seed
by Eric Carle (1987)
Science-Literacy Teacher Guide
About Seeds—Information Found in the Story:
[ + questions to follow up each fact about seeds ]
In the text and pictures…
 Wind blows seeds far away.
[How does this help the flower?]
 Seeds are different sizes.
[How many seeds are there?
How does big/small seed size help the plant?]
 Some seeds don’t survive/sprout.
[Why are there so many seeds?]
 Seeds don’t sprout right away.
[How long can a seed wait?]
 Rain helps seeds sprout.
[How does water get inside?]
 Seeds first develop roots, then stems. [Why do roots grow first?]
 Plants need sunlight, air, rain.
[Do seeds need soil? Why/not?]
 Young plants take sunlight and rain from other plants.
 Young plants get trampled.
[Why does a plant die (or not) when trampled?]
 Plants get harvested.
[What do we get from plants?]
 Plants look different from each other as they grow. [Why do some plants look different?]
 Plants grow many times larger than their seed size. [How do plants get bigger?]
 Petals and leaves fall off of the plant.
[What happens to dead plants?]
 Seeds are formed from one plant for the next generation (offspring).
[Which living things have life cycles?]
Other Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[Are seeds “alive?”]
[What do seeds need to survive? To sprout?]
[If a seed/plant can die in so many ways, how can they survive on the Earth year after year?]
[If plants make so many seeds, how come we don’t see more plants?]
[What do we mean by “life cycle?”]
Online Resources about Seeds, Plant Growth & Survival:
1. (text + pictures) Alfalfa seed/plant growth 
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hay/r648w.htm
2. (video) Plants germinating in light & dark 
http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/arabidopsis/atgermina
tion.html
3. 4th grade (online simulations & Concord Consortium) Virtual Field 
http://www.concord.org/activities/virtual-field