Introduction
Did you know that chicks come from eggs? From Egg to Chick is the study of how a chick grows inside an egg. Birds begin growing inside an egg with a hard shell. A baby chick grows inside the egg for 21 days. A baby chick hatches with soft down (not feathers), is able to see, and can walk, eat and drink by itself shortly after hatching.
Task
Your task is to learn the parts of an egg and how a chick grows inside the shell of an egg until it is ready to hatch! This will help you recognize that living things have offspring and that a parent-offspring relationship is based on the organisms' physical similarities and differences.
Process
1. Click here and then click the days to watch a chick grow in an egg. Click here and then drag your mouse across the picture. Watch the changes in the egg.
2. Make an animal chart. Pick five days out of the 21 days. On the chart, draw and color the chick as it grows. You may also print out pictures of growing chicks; cut them out and then paste them on the chart. Your teacher will give you the chart to use.
3. Click here and then drag your mouse across the picture to see a chick hatch. Write a paragraph telling about how a chick hatches. You may include pictures.
4. Your teacher will break a fresh egg into a flat dish to help you name the main parts of an egg (white, chalaza, yolk, shell, germ spot, air cell). Discuss this activity with your classmates. Print this diagram and label the main parts of a fresh chicken egg.
5. Optional. Your teacher will tell you if you need to work on these pages. Nursery Rhymes and children's stories include hens and chicks. Read this rebus rhyme "Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen" and color this page for fun with chickens.
6. Characteristics of chickens and chicks. Print out the table. Complete the questions about the chickens. Question 1 deals with animal characteristics and classification. Question 2 asks you to list characteristics of the parents and the offspring. Question 3 asks if you can identify the differences and similarities among multiple offspring of the animal parents.
Conclusion
GREAT! You now know how a baby chick grows inside an egg. Mother hen sits on her eggs for 21 days while the chicks grow. You also recognize that organisms have offspring.
Evaluation
Rubric For Graphic Organizer and Written Plan
| Competency |
3 pts. |
2 pts. |
1 pts. |
0 pts. |
|
Graphic Organizer
|
Organizer includes 5 pictures and coloring is done accurately.
|
Organizer includes at least 4 pictures with coloring. |
Organizer includes only 2 or 3 pictures with some color. |
No attempt. |
|
Egg Parts
|
Identifies parts of the fresh egg correctly. |
Identifies most parts correctly. |
Tried but has inaccuracies. |
No attempt. |
| Paragraph |
Well organized, clearly written with no spelling or grammatical errors. |
Organized, clearly written with some spelling and/or grammatical errors.
|
Unorganized, poorly written with numerous spelling and/or grammatical errors. |
No attempt. |
Teacher Page
Credits
This WebQuest was created by teachers participating in Missouri's Agriculture in the Classroom program at Missouri State University through a USDA grant. The template on this site was adapted from a template from The WebQuest Page and the original was designed by Dr. Lyndon Irwin. Assistance for this project was provided by Mrs. Barbara Irwin, M.S. and Mrs. Diane Olson, M.S.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt this lesson for classroom use only. No part of this publication may be transmitted, stored, recorded or published in any form without written permission from Missouri Farm Bureau.
Resources
Chickens from Eggs
Chicks Hatching
Life Cycle of a Chicken
About Birds
Listen to Baby Chicks
Hear a Rooster Crow
This page was developed by the late Barbara Irwin, reviewed by Lyndon and the late Barbara Irwin and is maintained by Missouri Farm Bureau.
Please address questions to Diane Olson at Missouri Farm Bureau.