Classroom Chicken Hatching Final Report

The hatching of chick eggs provided students with a valuable and memorable learning experience. We began this experiment in early April. The process took about 21 days. For many students this was their first exposure to farming life. It also gave students an opportunity to observe the miracle of life. Through this project the students had an opportunity to learn about the incubation process, embryonic development, practice animal care and handling, develop a greater appreciation and understanding of agriculture and specifically the poultry industry, and learn to perform specific skills such as reading a thermometer and candling an egg. Before undertaking this project, we made arrangements for the chicks that were going to hatch. Some parents volunteered to take one or two. The remaining chicks are heading to a local farm. We had a total of eight out of the 24 eggs hatch. In my classroom, I believe children learn best when involved in hands-on, real life experiences. The life cycle of the chicken was made real through the student’s participation in this chick hatching experiment. We were able to integrate several subjects into this project. Besides the obvious relationship in science we were able to tie into ELA, Math, and Social Studies. In ELA, our connection was through the use of stories and poems. We read “One Duck Stuck” by Phyllis Root and several other stories and poems that involved chickens and ducks. In Math, we graphed our predictions of the hatch rate. In Social Studies, we focused on the responsibility of taking care of living things/animals. We also learned about the communities that would normally have chickens and other farm animals. This is an experiment I hope to repeat in the future due to the high level of rigor that was produced throughout the process.

Our Original Hatch Date!

Today was our original hatch date for the chickens in the incubator. We have had 7 chickens hatch to this point!! The students and I are so excited about the progress of our hands on chicken experiment. We have held them and nurtured the baby chickens as they enter life and join our classroom. Below are some of the pictures of us enjoying the babies that have been before our very eyes! It's an incredible process that we've had the opportunity to witness!! We hope that you enjoy viewing our pictures as much as we've enjoyed having the experience.

Crazy Alabama Weather & Chick Time

Today and yesterday have been very weather hectic. Bessemer and other surrounding areas have been heavily affected by the severe storms and tornadoes. For the second day in row, we are getting out of school early due to the threat of tornadoes in the area. I am praying for those affected and for everyone to stay safe.

In brighter news, we have had some new visitors in our classroom. Three of our baby chicks have hatched and we are really enjoying seeing the whole experience. I really think it's something that the students and I are not soon to forget.

Planting Lima Beans & Space Basil

Today we planted seeds two different types of ways. We planted them in soil and we also planted them in a baggie without soil - with a paper towel.The seeds were lima beans. The girls put their bags on the window and the boys put theirs on the cabinet. We are going to compare the two locations and growth rate. Everybody in the class predicted that the lima beans in the bag will NOT grow without soil. We also planted cinnamon basil - earth based and even seeds that had went into space!! We are going to compare and contrast the differences. Below is some of the picture we took today:

Pumpkins...Pumpkins...Pumpkins!!!

We've had an incredible October!! We studied pumpkins off and on for most of October. We compared apples and pumpkins, learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin, tasted homemade and store bought pumpkin seeds, and created countless graphs and charts. We had a lot of fun adding some of our new information to our science journals.

Lizards... Our new friend "Pumpkin"

Our new friend, "Pumpkin" (the lizard) came to visit. Mr. Wesley decided our 6 pets were not quite enough. ;) He ended up in some odd places. Take a look... 

Parts of a Plant

We had a wonderful time creating our candy flowers. We studied parts of a plant and decided we needed to make our learning hands-on. We had a great time doing just that and an even better time enjoying the finished product. :)