Here, Chicky, Chicky!

Lesson 4

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Objectives:

Time Required:

Vocabulary:

Materials:

Procedures:

Day 1

Put a few stuffed toy chicks in a bag and read aloud the story An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni. Upon completing the story, put on your acting face and with a puzzled look, ask your students why they didn't think the baby alligator was a chick. Pretend not to know what a baby chick looks like and have students describe what a chick looks like. Pull the toy chick out of the bag and inform students they will be learning about chicks and how they hatch, grow and change.
Using any paint program have students draw a picture of a chick and write a sentence about a chick. For example, a chick is a baby hen. A chick can fly. A chick comes out of an egg, and so on.

Day 2

Read the story Egg Story by Anca Hariton. (This story provides an excellent explanation for you to share with your students.)
After the story, allow your students dramatize hatching as you teach the song The Chick In The Egg.
Bring in four or five pictures that show different stages in your life. Place in random order on the board.
Have children place your pictures in the order the pictures should go to demonstrate the correct sequence.
If possible, obtain an incubator and some fertilized chicken eggs (these can be obtained from local farms or hatcheries). Make sure you get complete instructions for hatching eggs. The process takes about 21 days. After the chicks have hatched and the children have had time to observe them, give the chicks to a local farm.
Have students keep an observation chart in the science journals and record observations.
Review stages of growth and have students refer to observations from their science journals.

Evaluation:

Students will create a set of sequence pictures the life cycle of a chick using Kid Pix. Click here for instructions on making a Kid Pix slide show.

Extension Activities:

Remind students that eggs are a big part many farms. Explain that farmers are able to separate their eggs into those they know will hatch into chicks, and those that are just for us to eat!
Read the story Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
Discuss different ways to eat eggs such as scrambled, boiled, fried, poached, omelets, etc. Take a class poll to discover which way of eating eggs is most popular amongst the children.
Then help the class create a graph to illustrate their preferences. Use any spreadsheet program to create a graph of their favorite ways to eat eggs.
Students can also visit www.kidsfarm.com/chickens.htm and see pictures of baby chickens and hear a rooster and chicken noises.

Home Learning:

Have your students share their chick knowledge with their family by sending the toy chicks home for a sleep over with different students (you may need to do this for a few days depending on how many toy chicks you use). Put the toy chick in a straw-filled basket along with a journal, a favorite bedtime story, and some granola "chick feed" to share with its hosts. Attach a parent note to explain the activity and request that a page in the journal be written about the night's events. When the child and chick return to class the next day, have him/her read his journal entry (help where needed or you read it) to the class.