Heather Cregar and Quentin Shaffer

Science Text Set-Plants

2nd Grade

Rationale
When choosing books for the text set I chose books that we
would be able to use within our lessons as well as additional books that
could also be incorporated into our lessons or just explored during free
time to learn additional information on plants. When planning books to
choose it was fairly easy to find good books that were useful, but hard
to narrow down the books to a handful. I tried to choose books that
were more relatable to our lessons to help reinforce the content that is
being taught.
I believe this text set is effective for our second grade students
because it aligns with the standards within our lessons, is age
appropriate and engaging. The standards that it aligns with are:
3.1.2.A5 Explain how different parts of a plant work together to make
an organism function and 3.1.3 A2 Describe the basic needs of living
things and their dependence on light, food, air, water, and shelter. The
students will be talking about different parts of plants and seeds and
how they work together to make the plant function and what the
functions of the different parts of plants are as well as the basic needs
of plants to survive within their lesson plans, and the text set will
enrich their learning within the lessons on plants.
Exploratory Questions
What do seeds do?
How do you take care of plants?
How do you grow a plant?
What does a plant need to survive?
What do plants do for humans?

Bibliography
Carle, E. (1987). The tiny seed. Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio.
o
o

Nonfiction/narrative picture book

K-2 grade

Ciciano, J. (2003). My bean plant. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

o
o

Nonfiction book
1st-2nd grade

Gibbons, G. (1991). From seed to plant. New York: Holiday House.

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o

Nonfiction/narrativepicturebook
K3rdgrade

Godwin, S., & Abel, S. (2005). A seed in need: A first look at the plant cycle.
Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books.
o
o

Nonfiction/picture book
K-2nd grade

Rey, H. A. (2016). Curious George Farm to Table: Curious George TV Reader. Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt.
o
o

Realistic Fiction/picture book

K-2nd grade

Critical Reviews

Title: From Seed to Plant

Author: Gail Gibbons
Genre Form: Nonfiction/ narrative picture book
Critique:
This book is about the lifecycle of a how a seed turns into a plant
going through the steps if the lifecycle. It also allows children and
readers to see the lifecycle through the illustrations. It shows how
different plants come from tiny seeds. It shows the students that seeds
need sunlight and water in order to survive which could relate to the
plant needs lesson in the unit. The book is more advanced than some
of the others in the text set but it will reach out to the students in the
class that may be more advanced in learning to reach a variety of
reading levels. This story could also influence the third lesson of the
unit where the students are doing planting inquires as well as talking
about the needs of a plant.

Title: The Tiny Seed

Author: Eric Carle
Genre Form: Nonfiction/ narrative picture book
Critique:
This book is about a tiny seed that travels with the wind. It talks
about how the seed survives perils, germinates and grows into a
flower. It then talks about how as a flower it produces more seeds. This
book is written as a child friendly way to explain the life cycle of a
plant. The illustrations help to keep the student engaged and to
understand the context better. This book would be a good example for
the overall unit of how parts of plants work together to grow and how
some plants grow again and possibly grow at different locations if the
wind causes the seed to travel.

Title: A Seed in Need

Author: Sam Godwin
Genre Form: Nonfiction/picture book
Critique:
This book is about a sunflower seed and how it makes its way to
become a sunflower. It goes through the process of the plant lifecycle
in a child friendly way. The butterfly and ladybug are on every page
having a conversation to help clarify the information that the story
gives and to add. This story would be a great transition piece from one
lesson to another to review what was already learned and to tie it in
with what will be learned next. It also uses child friendly terms and
pictures.

Title: My Bean Plant

Author: Joseph Ciciano
Genre Form: Nonfiction book
Critique:
This book is about growing bean plants. It is a short book but it is
great to use to introduce growing bean plants and taking care of them.
It talks about what materials are needed to grow and care for bean
plants. The book is structured in a way that is easy for children to read.
There are not many words included within the book and the pictures

help describe the words. This book is a good example for planting
seeds and is included in Lesson 3 of the plant unit.

Title: Curious George Farm to Table

Author: H.A. Rey
Genre Form: Realistic Fiction/narrative picture book
Critique:
This book is about Curious George helping his friend to make his
famous tortillas for his grandmas birthday. George knocks over some
ingredients that he was going to use and the grocery store was all out
of the ingredients he needed so George and his friend are worried that
the birthday surprise would be ruined. Uncle Enrique takes George and
his friend on a new adventure to find out where the ingredient comes
from, how it is made, and how it gets from the farm to the table. This
story does not directly relate to fruits or vegetables but it is about
wheat, which is also a plant. This book is different than the nonfiction
stories because it has the fictional aspect of talking monkey but it is
engaging and relays an important message that relates to our unit. It
helps to relate the unit on plants to how it affects humans and what
they eat.