Bird watching as an alternative to chick hatching

Apr 7, 2000 4:03 PM

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE IV: Students will understand why some people are opposed to chick hatching while other people endorse it.

MATERIALS: A Home For Henny book, materials from organization which sells chick eggs and incubator for classroom use.

MOTIVATION: Have the children list why they think that some people might like the idea of hatching chick eggs in a classroom while other people think that it's a bad idea. Chart student responses before and after they read, or listen to the teacher read, A Home For Henny as well as materials promoting classroom chick hatching..

ACTIVITIES:

Tell students that while A Home For Henny is fiction, that many of the individual incidents in the books are based on actual events. Read and discuss A Home For Henny. Where was Henny born? Why didn't all the eggs in the incubator hatch? What problem did some of the chicks have at the time of hatching? What happened to the chicks after the classroom project?

Why did someone try to steal Henny? Why was Henny taken to United Poultry Concerns? What did Melanie observe the hens and roosters doing at United Poultry Concerns?

Read materials promoting classroom chick hatching from organizations which provide the eggs and the incubator. Why do some teachers like to hatch eggs in the classroom? What can children learn from hatching chick eggs in a classroom incubator? Create a two-column chart, as illustrated, and have the students complete it as a group. Older students might debate this topic.