Scientific Organization and SequencingSC010206

Unit 2: Parents and Offspring

Lesson 6: Animals Hatched From Eggs

Big Ideas of the Lesson

  • Birds, frogs, insects, snakes, and other animals hatch from eggs.
  • Eggs help keep baby animals safe.
  • Some baby animals can take care of themselves.

Abstract

In this lesson children explore the various animals that hatch from eggs with an emphasis on snakes and birds. They look at photographs and listen to books about animals thathatch from eggs. The children make a booklet entitled “Who’s Hiding?”

Grade Level Context Expectation(s)

Children will:

  • generate questions based on observations of various animal life cycles (S.IP.01.12).
  • communicate and present findings of observations of parent/young characteristics (S.IA.01.13).
  • classify young animals based on characteristics that are passed on from parents (e.g., dogs/puppies, cats/kittens, cows/calves, chickens/chicks) (L.HE.01.12).
  • describe the life cycle of animals including the following stages: egg, young, adult; egg, larva, pupa, adult (L.OL.01.21).

Key Concept(s)

adult

egg

growth

life cycle

young/offspring

Instructional Resources

Equipment/Manipulative

Bowl (shallow, glass)

Crayons

Egg (1, fertilized from a farm)

Forceps (tweezers)

Glue

Jar (1 medium)

Pencils

Stapler

Water (2 cups, warm)

White 9” x 12” construction paper (4 sheets per child)

Student Resource

Eggs and Life Cycles. 2002. Teachers Share. Scholastic, Inc. 21 November 2008

Hewitt, Joan. Baby Animal Series: A Flamingo Chick Grows Up. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner, 2001.

Kalman, Bobbie. Animals Grow and Change. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2008.

Kalman, Bobbie, and Jacqueline Langille. What is a Life Cycle? New York: Crabtree Publishing, 1998.

Kessler, Dawn, and Claudia Douglass.Supplemental Materials (SC01020601.doc). Teacher-made material. Waterford, MI: Oakland Schools, 2008.

Teacher Resource

Burton, Robert. Egg: A Photographic Story of Hatching. New York: Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 1994.

Corn Snakes Hatching. 2002. ReptileKeeper. 21 November 2008

Gill, Shelley. The Egg. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2001.

Hatching Eggs in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide. The Egg and Embryo Life Science Series. Texas Agriculture Extension Service. The Texas A & M University System. 21 November 2008

Heller, Ruth. Chickens Aren’t The Only Ones. New York: PaperStar, 1999.

Incubation and Hatching. Photos by John Fox. FeatherSite. 21 November 2008

Kalman, Bobbie. Animal Life Cycles: Growing and Changing. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2006.

---. The Life Cycle of a Bird. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 1997.

---. What is a Bird? New York: Crabtree Publishing, 1998.

---. Life Cycle of a Snake. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2003.

Kessler, Dawn, and Claudia Douglass.Grade 1 Unit 2 Teacher Background (SC010200TB.doc). Teacher-made material. Waterford, MI: Oakland Schools, 2008.

Kramer, David. C. Animals in the Classroom. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1989.

Sequence of Activities

Advance Preparation: A great extension for this lesson is the Scholastic Web Lesson, “Who’s Hiding?” in the Eggs and Life Cycles website. You will need Adobe Acrobat to download the plan in PDF format. Prepare student “Who’s Hiding?” booklets using four sheets of 9” x 12” white paper folded in half and stapled together to create a booklet. One riddle should be glued to each page. Glue only the top portion of the egg shape so that it can be lifted.

Ideally, maintain cultures of two animals, one of which who lays eggs and one which has live young. An easy example would be an aquarium that included guppies (which appear to have live young*) and another fish that has eggs, in the same aquarium. Frog eggs in season develop well if you keep a lot of air (oxygen) in the water. Many teachers have egg hatcheries, but it is important to make sure you have the means to maintain good care of the eggs, and have a place to get your hatchling adopted at the appropriate time. If you would like to hatch eggs in the classroom, refer to David Kramer’s book, Animals in the Classroom, for a description of hatching turtle, snake and chicken eggs. Also contact your state wildlife specialists for special projects they may offer and to be certain you have not collected protected turtle eggs. *Note: All fish have eggs, but some maintain the eggs inside the body until birth, which gives the appearance of live birth. See Teacher Background for more culture tips.

1.Introduce this lesson by having children present their charts from Lesson 5. Add a motivational literature connection by reading the booksChickens Aren’t The Only Ones and Flamingo Chick Grows Up. Discuss with the children the different types of animals that hatch from eggs (turtles, some snakes, chickens and other birds, most insects, etc.).

2.Share the photographs in the book Egg: A Photographic Story of Hatching or other sources above of eggs hatching.

Put a fertilized farm egg in a jar of warm water. Have the children look closely at the egg and notice the tiny air bubbles escaping. Explain to them that the egg has tiny holes (pores) and that is how the animal inside gets air to breathe. Carefully peel away chips of shell, to reveal the paper-like membrane (amnion) inside. Say: “This is the shell. Air can go through it, but it protects the baby from being crushed by the mother when she sits on it to keep it warm. This is the amnion, a very thin, paper-like cover that also protects the baby. The albumin (egg white) is like foam that keeps the baby from being bounced around. The yolk is full of good things for the baby to eat as it grows. See that tiny spot, it is the place the baby bird will grow.”Note: Most commercial eggs are laid by chickens who are kept away from roosters. If you buy a fertilized egg and it is allowed to get warm, the embryo may begin to develop. The first sign is a tiny red dot. Then you may see red veins spreading across the yolk, to get nutrition for the embryo. These eggs are not harmful to eat. Have children identify each part on their Student Pages with arrows.

3.Review the classification of “animals that hatch from eggs” with questions like those that follow:

  • “How are the tiniest babies protected by birds, reptiles and fish, and amphibians?” [In an egg; bird eggs have hard shells, reptile eggs have rubbery shells, and fish and amphibian eggs have jelly shells.]
  • “Are the babies able to take care of themselves when they are first born?” [Normally, yes. Guppies, turtles, and pollywogs eat as soon as they are born. Birds must be fed for several weeks.]
  • “How do the newborns eat?” [Birds get food that the parent carries in the beak. Fish, reptiles, and amphibians normally must find food right away.]

4.Have the children view the photos of the animals hatching (snake and bird) on the web sites Corn Snakes Hatching and Incubation and Hatching. Discuss with the children how they think the animal breaks out of its shell.

5.Read the books The Life Cycle of a Snakeand The Life Cycle of a Birdemphasizing that the babies hatch from eggs.

6.As a project, help children create a book entitled “Who’s Hiding?” following the plan in the website Eggs and Life Cycles. The children write the title of the book and their name on the front cover. Read each riddle to the children as they draw and color the appropriate animal under each riddle.

Assessment

Individually assess the children by asking them to name three animals that hatch from eggs.

Application Beyond School

The children could share their “Who’s Hiding?”booklets with their family and talk about babies that have hatched in or near their home.

Connections

English Language Arts

While studying the life cycles of familiar organisms, children begin to use informational texts.

Mathematics

While looking at the eggs in the book, Egg: A Photographic Story of Hatching, the children could discuss the size of the egg and how it compares to the size of the animal.

The Oakland Schools Curriculum Page 1of 4

scope.oakland.k12.mi.usJanuary 14, 2010