Year 2 Science Animals incl. humans – Block 2AH – Healthy Animals

Session 1: Hatching eggs!
Science curriculum area(2AH): / Animals, including humans (2AH)
i) notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults
ii) find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air)
Working Scientifically (KS1 WS)- Skills developed with guidance / Working Scientifically (WS)
i)asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways
ii) observing closely, using simple equipment
Teaching Objectives /
  • Hypothesise about what is in an egg at various stages of incubation
  • Research the development of a chick and understand that it is a baby chicken
  • Observe the chicks closely, discuss findings and record observations
  • Discuss and research what the chicks will need to grow into healthy adults
Art
  • To use drawing to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination

Key Vocabularyegg, chick, hatch, baby, adult, grow, change, feathers, observe, record
Resources
Egg hatching kit (incubator with eggs),magnifying lenses, Stages of chicken development resource, cameras, video recording devices, sketch books. / Weblinks
Egg hatching programme for schools, over two weeks.The chicks can be rehomed to a free range farm at the end of the topic; Providers of eggs for schools 2-3 days from hatching; gg hatching for the South East; Development of a chicken in an egg; 7 minutes of chicks eating and interacting.
Before the session: Order an egg hatching kit and set it up in the classroom. See Weblinks section for links to providers, although there are many more online, with different hire and incubation periods to suit your needs. Prepare the classroom according to the instructions of the egg providers. Make sure the chn wash their hands if they are handling eggs or chickens and keep the surfaces clean. Check if any chn are allergic to feathers.
Whole Class:Invite the class to sit around the incubator, reminding them not to touch and to be quiet at all times. Say:What do you think is in the egg? What do you think it looks like? Give them some time to think about it and ask them to draw what they think on a piece of paper. Ask:Do you think the inside of the egg has changed over the last few weeks? When it first came out of the hen, what do you think was inside the egg?Show the chnthe Stages of chicken development resource, stopping at different slides to talk about what has developed. Spend some time dwelling on the stage that your actual classroom eggs are at. Ask:Now we know what is actually happening inside the egg, how do we feel about our quick drawings? Have we been surprised by anything? Would we change anything?When the eggs start to hatch, make sure the chn are positioned around the hatching kit so that everyone can see without knocking the eggs. Stress the importance of remaining quiet and calm. Ask the chn to watch carefully, take photos/videos. Encourage them to talk about what they can see:Can you see the beak? The egg tooth? What does it sound like? Can you hear the chirping of the new chick? What do you think the chick will look like or behave like when it is out of the egg? Is anyone surprised by what they are seeing? Play the chnat least a few minutes of this 7 minute clip showing older chicks eating, drinking and interacting with each other: to the chn that the newly-hatched chicks will look like this in a couple of weeks. Ask the chn to observe them, looking at what they are eating (corn) and drinking (water) and how they are behaving (running around, pecking each other). Ask:What do you think chicks need to grow into adults, into hens? (The right food, water, warmth, clean place to live.)
Activities:
As the chn watch the chicks, ask them to sketch them in their sketchbooks. Obviously the chicks will move around a lot, so ask the chn to just look closely at one little part of the chick for a few moments and then try and quickly draw what they saw. Emphasise that they will not have to draw a whole chick, but capture parts or movements. Ask the more able to jot down adjectives to describe what they see, hear, smell and feel. They may want to jot these down around their drawings. Ask an adult to scribe for the less able or record the chn speaking and describing.
Plenary / Sit in a circle and ask the chn to close their eyes. Ask them to breathe slowly and deeply andjust listen to the sounds of the newly-hatched chicks. How do they feel? Does the sound make them think of anything?
Outcomes / Children will
  • Understand the development of a chick in an egg and then how a chick grows into a hen
  • Observe hatching chicks closely and record what they see, hear, smell and feel

© Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.

We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.