Como Crece Una Semilla / How a Seed Grows (Let'S-Read-And-Find-Out Science)

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1

by Helene J. Jordan

Uses observations of bean seeds planted in eggshells to demonstrate the growth of seeds into plants

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Plants, Childrens, Gardening

31 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good: my five-year-old read me this whole book. It's a great early reader in terms of simplicity and text size.

The bad: it's dry, repetitive, and boring. My five-year-old didn't enjoy reading it at all.

The ugly: the illustrations. They're really bad.

We enjoy this series, but I wouldn't seek this particular book out again. I see that it's been redone with new illustrations. I'm curious whether they updated the text, too.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series for the younger crowd. Particularly the vintage editions - the illustrations are so much better, in detail and art style.

This title goes through the growth of a seed with plenty of pictures to illustrate. The info is just enough to not be overwhelming, and to stick with a 3 year old.

A win for early science!

Ages: 3 - 6

Content Considerations: nothing to note.

[Kirah Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. This informational book walks the reader through the steps of seeds and seed growth. It identifies all kinds of seeds, like beans, oak tree seeds (acorns), and more. Then it sets forth an experiment that takes you step by step of how the plant grows. It's example is a bean plant because bean plants grow fast. It talks about what plans need to grow and how to take care of them. It is beautifully illustrated and shows the step by step stages of seed growth!
2. This would be good for grades pre-k- 2nd. It is an easy read.
3. This would be a great book to read when doing a science lesson about plants and plant growth as well as plant parts. You could read the first half of the book then actually participate in the seed growing experiment with your class and read it a page a day as it corresponds to your classes growing plant.
4. Students who like learning about nature would like this as well as students who are interested in agriculture.
5. This book would work in small groups. You could have the students predict how long it will take the seed to grow. You could have them draw the stages of seed growth as well.
6. This book would be fun to do as a read aloud especially if you have your class plant bean seeds and watch them grow as you progress through the book.
7. Related books are From Tadpole to Frog, My Five Senses, and From Caterpillar to Butterfly.
8. This book comes in ebook/kindle version.

[John Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

How a Seed Grows, Helene J. Jordan
Grade Level: K-2
Topic: Plants and seed growth
Description: This book is great for helping young children learn how a seed grows into a plant or tree. It uses kid friendly language and terms but also provides an easy experiment in steps at the end where kids can grow their own plant with the help of an adult.

[Megan Kafka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate How A Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan and illustrated by Loretta Krupinski as a 4-Star book that falls into the genre of nonfiction, other than biography. The back cover of the book indicates this book is appropriate for ages four to eight. This book gives young readers a simple definition of a seed and step-by-step guide to grow seeds. The book ends with some additional suggestions for students to further discover the best conditions for seed growth and what happens to a seed when it does not receive what it needs to grow.

This book has large easy-to-read font and colorful illustrations which show what seeds may look like close up as well as pictures and clear, simple text outlining the step-by-step process needed for a seed to grow. Although this book is not characterized as a picture book, the illustrations provide an excellent visualization of what students can expect to see day after day as their seeds begin to grow, which adds significantly to the book’s appeal.

I would use this book as part of a science lesson and have students follow the directions in the book to grow their own seeds. This would help students to see the importance of following directions, to learn the care and nutrients needed to foster seed growth, and to realize the excitement of seeing growing their own seeds. Touching the seeds, the soil, and managing sun and water needs, will help students to immerse themselves in the learning experience for themselves. Once the seeds begin to grow, students could decorate small flower pots, and take their plants home to continue to watch them grow.

[Jen Kohel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title: How a Seed Grows
Author/Illustrator: Helene J. Jordan (Author); Loretta Krupinski (Illustrator)
Reading Level: 2.6
Book Level: grades 1-3
Book Summary: How does a tiny acorn grow into an enormous oak tree? This book shows how little seeds become the plants and trees that surround us. This book includes a 'find out more' activity section with a simple bean seed experiment encouraging kids to discover what a seed needs to grow.
Bookshelf Genre: Informational Text
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Sentence Fluency: Sentences have a nice rhythm and flow. Sentences are easy to read and have an appropriate length. Some words or phrases repeat throughout the book making it easy for the reader to comprehend what he/she is reading.

Ideas: I would have my students participate in a bean seed experiment. For this experiment, I would have my students practice charting and writing sentences to describe what they see happening with the plants. I could also have them make a mini book about how a seed grows in order to comprehend he facts of the book.

[Lisa Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan is a nonfiction picture book intended for readers in grades pre-k to second grade. The book is part of the series, Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, that won the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series. This level 1 book offers introductory science concepts to how seeds grow and how young readers to plant a garden. I gave the book a 4-star rating because of the language, step-by-step instructions and illustrations. The author used simple language that young readers will be able to understand or read on their own. Definitions were provided for some words that may be unfamiliar to young readers. It would have been nice to see some facts about what a pole or bush bean was as well as why certain steps were required such as the need to place the seed in an egg shell. The step-by-step instructions were easily understood and offered color illustrations that will appeal to young readers. Furthermore, the science exploration provided in the step-by-step instructions would also be helpful to teachers as they help develop science concepts for students. I cannot wait for March so that I can follow the easy step-by-step instructions myself.

[Michaela Klegseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a mixed view point based on what I see and find out through out this book. The illustrations are in watercolor and it feels like you are outside in the environment but its not a quite right feeling for this book. The process of how a seed grows is very important and it introduces science concepts that are simple. It is good for early readers and learners. The simple text and pictures make it to simple for the targeted grade level. It does show the different types of plants and weeds that are gonna grow.

[SaraKat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this book showed how a seed turns into a plant in a basic way. Most of the book shows how to do an experiment to seeds growing, but I don't think that the experiment as shown is the best way to see a seed grow. Instead of digging up some of the seedlings and killing them, why not grow them in a clear container so that we can see them with no problems? The illustrations are cute and it is appropriate to teach young children about seeds.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"how a Seed Grows" by Helene J. Jordan provides readers with both general information explaining the concepts of seed growth, relating these concepts to the real world with pictures, as well as a how-to section where the book explains step by step how to grow a shoot using household objects such as beans, eggshells, and soil. the book is very easy to understand and provides the right amount of imaginative and objective elements to spark a young child's curiosity in the subject.

[Savannah Domeyer]

How a Seed Grows explains all kinds of facts about seeds. How some seeds grow faster than others, how some seeds grow different things, and how it looks different than others seeds as they grow. The book also did a little activity where they planted ten seeds in egg shells and every couple of days took the seed out to see the progression, and by the time they got to the tenth seed it was a plant.

[Selina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells how planting seeds becomes the plants and trees around us. This simple story gives children an idea on how the environment is made up. This opens opportunity for discussion about different kinds of plants and trees, or even a hands on project allowing children to plant their own seeds.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book to read and experiment with. I would say ages 3-4 is appropriate to go through. It takes you step by step through the process of the growth of a bean sprout. And its something you could do with a very young child.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice informational text for preschool and early elementary classrooms. Many classrooms plant seeds in the spring, and this book details exactly what happens in each step for the process, making for a great read aloud at the start of the unit! Beautiful illustrations as well.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

too long for early childhood

needs photos - not a fan of the illustrations

children were not engaged

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is great. The presentation is quite boring. I usually love books from this series but I think the next time I need to review the plant lifecycle with the kids, I'll pick a new book.

[TCNS]

Filed under "Nutrition."

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

An educational book about growing plants from seeds. I liked the science aspect of it.

[Chynna Cowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. It can be used in the classroom during a science lesson on plants and sunlight and water and how plants grow. Students, especially young students, love to see how things like this happen and will be interested in a book like this.

[Amanda Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title: How a Seed Grows
by Helene J. Jordan

Short Description of the Book: Jordan explains that seeds become plants and gives examples of slow growing and fast growing seeds. She gives a description of a science experiment that children can do themselves, while teaching what plants need to survive.

Focus: Informational Features I Would Use in a Mini-Lesson

1.) Informational Text Structure, How-To: Jordan begins her story with an introduction page about seeds. She then narrows her focus by showing particular types of seeds and the plants that they will eventually grow into. The experiment section of the book is written in a how-to format. She clearly explains the steps of the experiment and guides the reader through what they should be seeing at each stage in the process.
The writing mini-lessons for which I would use this book would be to emphasize that informational books have an introduction page to “hook” the reader and explain what the book will be about, as well as writing steps in a how-to format that the reader can follow and replicate. The steps are very clear and the author tells you what you should do and what the results will be. Students could use this as a guide to writing their own steps, with an emphasis on clarity of direction and use of illustrations to depict results.

2.)Informational Text Features: Jordan includes many close-up drawings of the bean plant at different stages. These “close-ups” can be seen in many informational texts. Students could be encouraged to include “close-ups” in their own how-to informational books to clearly show a piece or portion of the larger process.

Teach: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).

[Joseph Sarandrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the short informational picture book How A Seed Grows, Helene J. Jordan writes a story of an acorn and how it becomes a tree. With the help of Joseph Low’s illustrations, children can read about and understand the process of a seeds growth.

The illustrations in this book, although very creative, are a bit odd. With some pages in black and white and other in color, the drawings are inconsistent and somewhat confusing. They do their job of illustrating the text, but do not exceed expectations or stand out for any positive reason.

The textual information, however, is very informative and not only catches the readers attention, but holds onto it all throughout the story. Jordan ends this book with step-by-step instructions of how to plant your own acorn seed, giving children a chance to see the book come to life.

How A Seed Grows is a great way to teach children how trees are created and grow.

[Madison Woodmansee · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan is a young informational text for mostly kindergarten and preschoolers. The reason it is for new readers is because it teaches the basic concepts. The book is about how a small seed grows into a big oak tree. It shows how we get the beautiful plants that surround our world.

This book touches on the science behind how a seed grows. However, it puts into to basic terms for young readers to be engaged and interested. Making it easy for them to understand how it works in a simple way. The book does a good job with their illustrations. It contains very vibrant water colored pictures to go with the text to keep bring the book to life. I highly recommend this book for young readers because it is a good starter to introduce informational text to beginner readers. It also keeps them engaged while they are also learning something new. This is a great new way to get kids learning without them even knowing they are learning.

[Zoraya Brown]

I would use this book to teach children about the process of seeds transforming into plants. The activity for extension would entail providing each child in the lesson with a small styrofoam cup, 3 Lima beans, and a piece of brown paper towel. We would place the paper towel in the bottom of the cup with the seeds on top, then allow children to water their seed by putting water in the cup. We would watch the plants grow each day and have the children draw their views of them, as well as discuss what is happening with the plant. I have seen this done in the current classroom that I am in, however they don't do any activities with the seeds, aside from watch them grow. I will implement creativity with the growing of the plant.

[Calie Youmans · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a Seed Grow shows the process of how a little seed grows into the plants and trees that are all around us.

This is a Stage 1 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explains simple science concepts for preschoolers and kindergarteners. It is also the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.

How a Seed Grows would be great when discussing common core standards on explaining how plants and tress grow. I could read this book as a launch to the lesson and then show each page as an example for each step of the process.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes a science experiment in which children take an acorn and watch as it grows into a tree. It does a good job of describing the stages of growth, and would be a good way to inspire a unit about plants! I think it could have done a better job explaining what is happening as the seed is growing and why, rather than what the child is seeing as it grows. It would be a good start to a project, if other books involved in the unit explained more of the why.
Theme: Plants
Topic: Science- life cycles

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a Seed Grows is a great book about how seeds grow and what they grow into, even how to grow seeds.
It provides the reader with relate-able events to help them realize the time table for a seed growth. I love that it explains ho to grow a seed, what seeds grow what flowers, trees, or vegetables. It helps the reader with their success in growing their own seed. The realistic illustrations provide a proper description of a seed and its growth. It uses a chronological narrative to show the reader the steps needed for a seed to grow.

[Evelyn Matias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to use in with your first graders when intoducing a lesson on seeds and plants. It gives a great list of things that come from seeds and also pictures of different kinds of seeds and where they come from. It also allows for your students to make the text to outside connection. It also gives a little experiment on growing a bean plant from a bean seed. It's a neat simply put book that a first grader can easily understand.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to teach young children about how a seed grows. I did the experiment suggested in the book with my SEN class and the classroom was buzzing with children's comments and questions. I would recommend all EYFS teachers or those who have children with SEN to get this book.
This book is brilliant! It combines so skilfully both fact and fiction and was a fantastic tool to get young children and children with SEN to get to grips with growing.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book is NOT, to be clear, is a good read-aloud. It's tedious if used that way.

What it *is* is a good, step-by-step instruction of a basic science project for little ones. If you use it that way, reading every step as you go through it and not before, it's wonderful.

I find the reading age suggested on this book (3-6) to be a little young. Try 6-8 instead.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has realistic pictures that show different types of seeds and the process of how a seed grows into something else. The story provides information on how to plant a seed and help it grow. It also has cross-section pictures of the seed as it grows; this allows students to clearly understand the process a seed goes through to become a plant.