This lesson provides students with an understanding that animals
procreate their own species through a process of reproduction. Technology,
with an emphasis on video is incorporated as the primary instructional technique
as concepts of hatching from eggs and being born alive are introduced. Video
and center designed hands-on activities serve as catalysts for learning
made real and meaningful while students enhance their knowledge of young
that hatch from eggs. Interaction, questioning and higher order thinking
encourage students to become more creative critical thinkers and enhance
demonstration of individuals differences.
TAKE A LOOK
Eggs #105
RAINBOWS, RABBITS & ROCKETS
Hatched or Born? #112
STORYTIME
Horton Hatches the Egg #111
READING RAINBOW
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones #408
Students will be able to:
tell the two ways animals produce young;
identify animals that hatch and are born;
name the parts of an egg;
discuss functions of the parts of an egg;
identify and describe objects that are like/unlike another object;
predict outcomes;
demonstrate how objects are larger/smaller, harder than/softer than;
explain a moral obligation.
(per class)
1 chalkboard, chalk,
eraser
1 teacher-made or commercial EGGS poster
1 word card: fertile
1 word card: infertile
1 word card: hen
1 word card: embryo
1 word card: incubator
1 soft shell egg (pre-prepared)
3 infertile eggs
1 roll plastic wrap
1 old newspaper
1 group heavy books
1 egg incubator
6 fertile eggs
8 oz. vinegar
1 8oz. measuring cup
1 classroom thermometer
(per student)
1 sheet tablet paper
1 pencil
1 infertile egg
1 small plastic bowl
1 section paper towel
1 regular size marshmallow
hatch
born
fertile
infertile
mammals
yolk
albumen
gender
male
female
reptiles
dozen
germinal spot
chalazae
Initiate interest in animals hatched from eggs by providing
an opportunity for students to experience one of the following videos during
regularly scheduled story time on day or day before this lesson is presented:
STORYTIME, Horton Hatches the Egg #111; READING RAINBOW, Chickens Aren't
the Only Ones #408.
Acquire a commercial EGGS poster or pre-prepare one that is teacher-made
prior to introducing the lesson. If teacher-made, select several egg laying
animals (e.g. emu, eagle, gull, frog, hen, robin, shark, etc.) and arrange
pictures of their eggs on the poster. Glue two small sections of velcro
about eight inches apart next to each egg picture. Acquire a picture of
the animal that lays each egg and prepare a card with its name; attach a
section of velcro to the back of each. Introduce the lesson as you display
the EGGS POSTER in view of all students. Point to one of the eggs then ask,
"Who can tell the animal that lays this egg?" Allow volunteers
to tell the animal they believe lays the egg. If several are offered, record
each on the chalkboard. Engage students in discussion leading to correct
identification. Appoint a student to go to the poster, select the picture
of the correctly identified animal, then attach it next to the appropriate
egg. Select a second student to choose the name tag, then attach it. Repeat
the activity until all eggs have been included. Refer individually to eggs
as students interact and tell where each type might be found. Encourage
students to share their knowledge about animals displayed on the poster.
Inform students they are going to see a video about eggs. To
give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch the
video, then be prepared to discuss the animal that produced the egg."
TAKE A LOOK
Eggs #105
Begin tape immediately following opening credits with audio of boy, "Do
you like eggs? I do." PAUSE tape on visual of boy and kate gathering
eggs in a basket; audio is, "I love to eat eggs, Kate. It sure is neat
to have them fresh from the hens." Allow time for students to identify
chicken and share their knowledge of the animal.
Write, then underline gender on the chalkboard. Have students pronounce
the term and discuss what they believe it means. Affirm or explain that
gender defines an animal as male or female. List male and female under gender.
Write the following on chalkboard; rotate around the classroom and have
each student complete the sentence: My gender is ___. Point to female on
chalkboard, then ask, "What other words do you know that identify someone
as the female gender?" Allow students to tell: girl, woman, lady, mother,
grandmother, aunt, sister, etc. Point to male on the chalkboard and repeat
the process.
Say, "All the words you named to define gender are usually used to
identify people (humans)." Write chicken on chalkboard. Ask, "What
is a female chicken called?" (hen) Say, "In animals, it is only
the female gender that produces eggs." Show a carton of the infertile
eggs purchased for the upcoming demonstration. Ask, "Do you believe
these eggs have baby chicks inside?" Draw a simple yes/no graph on
the chalkboard; use it to record each student's response to the question.
After each has responded say, "The correct answer is no because the
eggs are infertile. Produce the infertile word card. Say, "Eggs bought
at the grocery are in-fertile and will not produce baby chicks." Show
the fertile word card. Ask, "Can anyone explain the difference in a
fertile and infertile egg?" Allow time for students to offer opinions.
Give students a specific responsibility while viewing as you say, "The
next video tells the difference in fertile and infertile eggs. Watch to
learn if your opinion is correct." RESUME tape. PAUSE
tape on visual of Kate and the boy sitting down with a basket of eggs; audio
is, "So if you had a rooster the chicks would grow from eggs, just
like the eggs we eat?" Allow students to evaluate their opinions as
they discuss the difference between a fertile and infertile egg. (Teacher
discretion is advised related to length and depth of presenting this concept.)
Say, "Kate said the developing egg inside the hen's body has to be
fertilized by a cell from the male chicken. What is the name of a chicken
whose gender is male?" Write rooster on the chalkboard. Remind students
that Kate does not have a rooster, therefore all eggs laid by her hens are
infertile. Refer again to the fertile/infertile word cards. Briefly explain
that a fertilized egg can produce an animal. Say, "The hen eggs you
purchase at the grocery are infertile, therefore, they are incapable of
producing a chick."
Say, "In the next video, Kate points out different parts of an egg."
To give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch
and be prepared to identify the parts when you examine an egg. RESUME
tape. PAUSE tape on visual of a large question mark. Ask, "Would
you be able to name the parts if you examined an egg?" Allow students
to respond. Hold up a carton of one dozen eggs. Say, "This is a carton
of one dozen infertile eggs I purchased at the grocery. How many eggs does
the carton contain?" Confirm twelve; have a volunteer validate twelve
eggs as they count them in-dividually.
Distribute a sheet of tablet paper and a pencil to each student. Say, "I
could only buy eggs in a one dozen carton. How many cartons did I buy so
every student in the class could have one? How many eggs will be left unused?"
Allow time for students to solve the problem. Then say, "Would someone
of the female gender volunteer to write their computation on the chalkboard,
then explain it?" Re-inforce the gender concept as you ask any boys
who volunteered to explain why they should not have volunteered. Confirm
correctness of solution to problem the volunteer writes on the chalkboard
as classmates check their work for accuracy.
Distribute one egg inside a small plastic bowl and a section of paper towel
to each student. Say, "Raise your hand if you've ever helped with preparation
of a meal by cracking the eggs." After students have responded, ask,
"What were you cautioned not to do before you started cracking the
eggs?" (Do not allow pieces of shell to drop inside the bowl and pro-bably,
don't break the yolks.) Demon-strate cracking an egg inside a bowl like
those distributed to the students. Instruct students to crack the egg and
pour its contents into the bowl. Assist as needed; allow time for completion
of the task. Encourage students to carefully observe the egg, relating their
observation to in-formation Kate provided on the video.
Ask, "How many parts do you see in the egg?" Allow time for responses,
then select a volunteer to draw a large picture of an egg on the chalkboard.
Label each part on the drawing. Then, instruct students to make their own
drawing on the tablet paper previously provided. Allow for completion of
the task, then engage students in interaction as they name, label their
drawing and define the function of each part of the egg. Say, "The
germinal spot on an egg yolk will only develop into a chick if a rooster
fertilized the egg. The yolk is made of nutrients. Its function is to provide
food for a developing chick. Display the embryo word card and explain it
as the correct term used to identify a developing chick inside the shell.
Say, "Chalazae is the white stringy substance that suspends the yolk
inside the egg like a hammock. The albumen is the white of an egg. It surrounds
and protects the yolk."
Ask, "Why wasn't an embryo found in one of your eggs?" Confirm;
all eggs were infertile. Encourage students to locate each part of the real
egg as illustrated and labeled on their tablet paper and the chalkboard.
To give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch
the next video and check to see if you named the egg parts correctly."
RESUME tape. PAUSE tape after the boy has reviewed the main
parts of the egg; visual is the TAKE A LOOK logo and picture of a bird.
Validate accuracy of student drawings and labeling; compliment students
on their work. Collect the bowls of eggs.
Allow time for students to share knowledge as they name animals they know
that hatch from eggs. List each on chalkboard as named. To give students
a specific responsibility while viewing say, "As you watch the next
video, look for animals that come from eggs which we did not list."
RESUME tape. PAUSE tape on visual of Kate; audio is, "An
egg is a perfect place for growing a chick." Have students tell additional
animals that hatch from eggs; add them to the chalkboard list.
Ask, "Do you think an egg is a perfect place for an embryo to develop
and grow into a chick? Why?" Allow time for students to share their
opinions. Ask, "Do you think a mature embryo which has developed into
a chick finds it hard to crack the shell and get out?" Again, allow
students to share their beliefs. Explain, there is an experiment which proves
how hard a shell really is. To give students a specific responsibility while
viewing say, "Watch Kate in the next video and be prepared to name
materials needed to conduct the experiment. RESUME tape. PAUSE
tape after Kate explains materials needed to conduct the experiment. Allow
students to name the items needed: three eggs, some news-paper, plastic
wrap and several hardback books. To give students a specific re-sponsibility
while viewing say, "Watch the next video so you can explain how to
conduct the experiment." RESUME tape; PAUSE tape and
allow students to describe the experiment after visual of cracked eggs and
audio, "Did you expect they would hold so many?" Show the items
to be used in the classroom experiment.
Say, "Observe the books we'll use with our experiment. Predict how
many you believe it will take to crack the eggs." Allow students to
make their predictions, then instruct them to record their prediction on
their sheet of tablet paper. Solicit assistance from three volunteers to
conduct the experiment as other students give step-by-step instructions:
place newspaper on a flat surface; position the three eggs close together
on top of the newspaper; place a section of plastic wrap (large enough to
protect the books) on top of the eggs; and gently position one book at a
time on top of the eggs until an egg(s) cracks. Say, "It required "X"
books to crack the eggs. Who predicted correctly?" Allow for responses.
Engage students in dis-cussion as others tell the number they predicted
as "how many more" or "how many less" than the correct
amount. Make three headings on the chalkboard which read: predicted correctly,
predicted more, predicted less. Say, "Decide which heading your prediction
should be recorded under." Allow time for decision making, then say,
"With a show of hands, let me know which group your prediction falls
under as I point to each heading on the chalkboard." Implement the
activity as you write the appropriate total under each heading. Allow time
for students to compare results.
Ask, "Which is easier to crack, something hard or something soft?"
Allow students to share their beliefs. Distribute a regular size marshmallow
to each student. Say, "Strike the marshmallow against the side of your
pencil to crack it." Allow students to experiment. Then ask, "Which
was easier to crack, the hard shell of the egg you were given earlier or
the soft marshmallow?" Affirm the egg shell was easier. Ask, "Who
wants to change their opinion about which is easier to crack, something
hard or something soft?" Ask students to name things softer than a
marshmallow; and things harder than an egg shell.
To prepare a soft-shell egg, submerge it in vinegar for several days.
Pass a soft-shell egg among students for their observation. Say, "In
order to soften the shell of this egg, it was necessary to remove the mineral
that makes it hard. Do you know the mineral that was removed?" Allow
students to guess what was removed from the shell. To give students a specific
responsibility while viewing say, "Watch the next video to discover
the mineral that was removed and how I removed it." Resume tape. Stop
tape after the experiment with vinegar; visual is boy attempting to break
the egg with his hand; audio is, "The egg sure is strong ..."
Ask, "Which mineral makes egg shells so strong?" Allow students
to respond, "calcium." Write calcium on chalkboard. Say, "Your
body also needs a well balanced diet that includes calcium. It's especially
important for developing which parts of your body?" (teeth and bones)
"What is a good source of calcium?" (milk and other dairy products)
Say, "Just as calcium makes an egg shell hard and strong, it does the
same for your teeth and bones." Ask, "What was used on the video
to remove calcium from the egg shell?" (vinegar) Ask two volunteers
to assist in setting up the experiment as seen on the video. Provide an
8 ounce measuring cup, one infertile hen egg and 8 ounces of vinegar. Instruct
volunteers to place the egg inside the cup, then add enough vinegar to cover
it. Say, "Over the next several days, observe what gradually happens
to the egg as the vinegar removes calcium from the shell." Refer to
the pre-prepared soft-shell egg examined earlier by students. Ask, "How
would you describe the texture and feel of the egg?" (wrinkled, soft
and rubbery) Say, "After several days, we can remove the egg from its
vinegar bath, then compare its texture and feel to the egg you examined
today." Place both eggs in the classroom's science center to allow
student observation over the next several days. On the appropriate day,
remove the egg from the cup of vinegar; encourage students to compare the
two eggs and evaluate success of the experiment.
Say, "All animals reproduce their offspring in one of two ways."
Encourage students to share their knowledge of ways animals reproduce. To
give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch the
next video to see if what you believe about how animals produce their young
is correct."
RAINBOWS/RABBITS & ROCKETS
Hatched or Born? #112
Begin tape immediately following opening credits; audio is, "Animals,
animals, animals, where do they all come from?" PAUSE tape on
visual of a deer; the graphic born/hatched is superimposed on screen. Permit
students to confirm their belief and to tell animals are either born alive
or hatched from eggs. Write born and hatch on chalkboard. Review: most animals
born alive are classified in the animal kingdom as mammals. Most that hatch
are classified as reptiles, fish or birds. Allow students to share their
knowledge of these groups of animals.
Ask, "Do you think we could hatch baby chicks in our classroom?"
Allow for student responses. Ask, "What would be needed for this project?"
Elicit dis-cussion leading to conclusion that fertilized eggs and an appropriate
en-vironment for the eggs to incubate would be necessary. Review difference
in fertile and infertile eggs. Show students the in-cubator. Write incubator
on chalkboard as you explain, "An incubator is a substitute for a mother
hen. Who can tell why?" Allow students to share their beliefs. Ask,
"What is (the natural) nature's way of hatching eggs?" Permit
students to share their knowledge of the mother hen sitting on the eggs
until the embryos have developed into chicks.
Explain: "If we decide to use the incubator and hatch baby chicks,
we must be willing to accept the moral obligation that goes along with the
project." Write moral obligation on chalkboard. Allow students to tell
what they believe moral obligation means. Lead discussion to con-clusion
that it means understanding and doing the right thing under a certain circumstance.
Role play with students as you present the following scenario and ask students
to tell what moral obligation they would have related to it.
Scenario: "You find a dollar bill on the floor, below the coat rack
in the class-room. You pick the money up and place it in your pocket; you
tell no one at this time. Later, a classmate reports they lost a dollar
bill. What are your moral obligations under these circumstances?" Elicit
student responses. Guide discussion to an understanding that first, you
are morally obligated to tell the teacher you found the dollar in the classroom.
The second moral obligation is to return the money to the rightful owner.
Expand the moral concept of right/wrong as students are asked to react to
the following situations: "Which is right; which is wrong?" You
failed to complete your homework. (a) You admit why the homework isn't completed.
(b) You tell you lost the homework on the way to school.
You become angry with a classmate and say something hurtful to them. The
class-mate reports you to the teacher. (a) You deny having made the hurtful
comment. (b) You admit your action was in-appropriate and apologize to the
classmate.
Ask, "Do we have a moral obligation to the chicks if we decide to incubate
them as a classroom project? What is our obligation?" Encourage students
to internalize that the class must identify someone who has a suitable environment
for the chicks to live and grow in and that the individual agrees to take
the chicks and care for them whenever they can no longer be cared for in
the classroom. After students have accepted their moral obligation to the
chicks, agree to imple-menting the project.
Say, "Now that we have agreed to accept our obligation to the chicks
and because we don't have a mother hen to sit on the eggs ..." To give
students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "...watch the
next video and be prepared to explain why the words hen, embryo and incubator
all apply to our project." RESUME tape. PAUSE tape on
visual of an egg with a small hole and chick trying to break the shell;
audio is, "Now it's time for them to begin hatching one by one."
Show the word card incubator and ask students to tell why it is important
to their project. Continue with word cards for embryo and hen as students
tell why they are important words. (Confirm a hen is a female chicken; only
females can develop eggs.)
Explain that in the absence of a hen, the incubator is needed to keep the
fertile eggs moist and warm in order for the embryo to grow and mature inside.
Ask, "What temperature does the incubator need to maintain for the
eggs to hatch?" (99 degrees Fahrenheit) Ask a volunteer to show 99
degrees Fahrenheit on the classroom thermometer. Ask, "As you watched
the video, how many days did you learn the eggs must remain in the incubator?"
(18 of the 21 days) Re-inforce that embryo is the developing and growing
period inside an egg.
To give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch
the next video and be prepared to describe the fully matured chick break
out of its shell." RESUME tape; STOP tape on visual of
chick which has just emerged from the shell; audio is, "Aren't they
cute?" Review periods in the chick's life cycle when it is referred
to as an embryo and when it becomes known as a chick. Conduct a brief interactive
session as you encourage students to share any new knowledge they acquired
about eggs during the lesson.
Place eggs in incubator and begin the incubation period. Explain the im-portance
to observe but not disturb the incubator during period of incubation.
Have students research and develop a plan of caring for/feeding the chicks
after they have hatched. Estimate a date when chicks can no longer be properly
cared for in the classroom and coordinate with whomever has agreed to take
the chicks, to come for them.
Invite the individual who agreed to take the chicks, to visit
your classroom. Ask them to discuss how they plan to care for them and to
describe where the chicks will live and grow to mature chickens. Find out
later how many were hens and how many were roosters.
Plan a field trip to visit the property or farm where the chicks will be
raised.
If there is a wildlife sanctuary near your community, plan a field trip
to learn how birds and other wildlife are protected and cared for in this
special area. OR visit a zoo and identify animals that were hatched from
eggs and those that were born.
SCIENCE
Divide the class into four cooperative groups. Have each group extend their
study of animals that hatch from eggs and those that are born by researching
and planning a presentation to the class. GROUP A: Prepare a slide presentation
using KID PIX COMPANION. GROUP B: Create an appropriate big book. GROUP
C: Create a poster or a display unit. GROUP D: Use a tape recorder or a
camcorder to create an audio or video tape presentation.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Have students read and present a report to the class based on GREEN EGGS
AND HAM by Dr. Seuss.
Have students write creative poems or stories based on "What My Life
Was Like While I Was An Embryo."
MATH
Survey to find out each student's favorite style of eggs as prepared for
breakfast. Design a graph to show results. Display the graph in your classroom.
Place plastic eggs in two baskets. Have students count the eggs and record
the numbers. Discuss which basket contains the greatest/least amount.
ART
Create egg shell mosaics. Crush clean egg shells into a variety of sizes,
then glue them to heavy paper creating a picture. Provide tempera to paint
the pictures. Display pictures on the wall outside your classroom.
