Seed to beanstalk

1. The Tiny Seed
2. Places to grow plants
3. How to plant a seed
4. Jasper's Beanstalk

1. Seed explorer
2. Lifecycle of a plant
3. At the garden centre
4. How to plant a bean seed

1. At the garden centre
2. Plant a flower
3. Scarecrows
4. Seed to beanstalk

1. Read The Tiny Seed. Remind children it shows the lifecycle of a seed. Identify what stops some seeds from growing, e.g. sun too hot, ice too cold, ocean too wet. List ideas & consider alternatives.
2. Share The Tiny Seed. Reflect on why the tiny seed was able to germinate. Discuss what conditions seeds need to start growing. Help children to use because to provide reasons for ideas.
3. Enjoy Jasper’s Beanstalk. Appreciate humour. Reread the story together, modelling how to use different strategies to read unfamiliar words (resources). Identify what Jasper did on each day. Discuss the consequences of Jasper mowing the bean. List equipment used/ what he did with it to care for the bean.
4. Display Seed to Sunflower. Say it is an information book and does not need to be read in order. Look at the Contents. Read headings. Turn to page 5 – 4. Identify the heading and also the pictures, labels and captions. Identify and discuss a selection of facts; ensure children understand them correctly.
5. Display Contents from Seed to Sunflower and model using the book to answer questions about the life cycle of a sunflower. Write a response to each question.

Poetry/Rhyme of the Week: Little Brown Seeds by Anon
Share the poem and rehearse at suitable times throughout the week, e.g. start/end of the day. Encourage the children to vary the pitch and tone of their voice as they rehearse to emphasise the rhyming words, e.g. sprinkle/twinkle. Support children to learn and perform the poem in small groups.

Essential text
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth

Websites
Little Brown Seeds - song and actions from youtube.com
Lifecycle of a plant from BBC.co.uk/bitesize

Resources
Selection of common seeds from seed packets or taken from plants/fruits
Gardening catalogues
Garden centre role-play equipment
Acrylic paints, plastic pots, sunflower seeds, soil
Salt dough