Agricultural WebQuests

This WebQuest is intended to complement a classroom embryology project. However, realizing that some districts no longer allow embryology projects due to health or other reasons this unit may also be used in lieu of actual incubation by the use of virtual resources.

From Egg to Chick is the study of the development of a chick embryo. Birds are unique in that they have life cycles that begin with growth inside a hard shelled egg. Baby birds can hatch at different stages of development. When a baby Robin hatches it is naked (no feathers), is blind, cannot walk, and it's parents must feed it so it will live. A baby chick hatches with downy like feathers, is able to see, and it is able to walk, eat and drink by itself shortly after hatching.

Introduce the term incubation to the students. Students need to understand that not just any egg will hatch. Fertile eggs must be kept under the proper conditions of temperature and humidity for development of the embryo to occur. Different kinds of eggs have different incubation periods. Chicken eggs take 21 days. The mother hen will sometimes incubate her own eggs but the poultry industry uses large incubators. Mother hen turns her eggs several times a day so the embryo will not stick to the shell. Turning is done automatically in the incubators.

1. Students are directed to click here and then click the days to watch a chick grow in an egg. Each link will show a day in the development of the chick embryo over the 21 day incubation period. Students then click here and drag their mouse across the picture. If they do it right, students will see changes in the egg over the incubation period. These pictures were made by "candling" eggs. Candling is done by holding the egg against a bright light to illuminate the contents of the eggs. Students can then see the shadow of the embryo. That is why the egg appears darker and darker as the chick takes up more space in the egg.

2. Help the students make an incubation graphic organizer. Let students pick any five days out of the 21 days. On the graphic organizer they should draw and color the chick as it grows these five different days. They may also print out pictures of growing chicks; cut them out and then paste them on the graphic organizer.

3. Students will click here and then drag the mouse across the picture to see a chick hatch. They will see changes in the picture showing a chick coming out of the egg. Notice that the chick pips a slit around the egg to "engineer" its own birth. Mother hen does not help. The chick is wet when it hatches but it soon dries out soft and fluffy.

4. Break an egg into a dish and help the students identify the yolk, white (albumen), chalaza, shell, germ spot (germinal disk), and the air cell (which will be in the big end of the inside of the shell). Have students label fresh egg parts. If your students break eggs or touch any part of the egg they must wash their hands with soap and water. The risk of salmonella is small but let's not take any chances. We suggest that only the teacher break the eggs.

5. Optional activity. Coloring the chick activity is merely a fun activity that will help young learners develop their color and mouse skills.

Rubric For Graphic Organizer and Written Plan

National Education Standards

English

Communication Strategies

Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purpose.

Life Science

Life Cycle of Organisms

Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.
Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.
Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from an individual's interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristics include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. Other features, such as the ability to ride a bicycle, are learned through interactions with the environment and cannot be passed on to the next generation.

Resources

Hatching Eggs

It Started as an Egg

Another Chick WebQuest

Diagram of Fresh Egg

A Great Site for Incubation Projects

Non-fiction Books:

Eggcyclopedia. American Egg Board. 1460 Renaissance Drive, Park Ridge, IL 60068.

Johnson, Sylvia. Inside an Egg. New York: Lerner Publications. (A Lerner Natural Science Book) . Reprint October, 1987.

This page was developed by Barbara Irwin, reviewed by Lyndon and Barbara Irwin and is maintained by Missouri Farm Bureau.

Please address questions to Diane Olson at Missouri Farm Bureau or Dr. Lyndon Irwin at Missouri State University.

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.