Page 1 TEACHERS ACTIVITIES Theme: A look at all the different kinds of animals that hatch from eggs convinces us that chickens aren t the only ones. Topics or Discussion: Before viewing the program, discuss with the class where eggs come from. Ask students to name other animals besides chickens that lay eggs. Write their ideas on the board. After they have watched the program, find out if they have additional animals to put on the list. Chickens Aren t the Only Ones is a nonfiction book written in rhymed text. Discuss the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Use this opportunity to overview additional nonfiction books about chickens and other animals that lay eggs. Talk about the fact that we don t usually expect nonfiction books to be written in rhyme. Ask the students to imagine breaking out of a shell the way a baby chick does it. Discuss the difficulty of the chick s task. What tasks are difficult for a child when he or she is very young? Curriculum Extension Activities: Brainstorm different ways to prepare eggs (scrambled, fried, hardboiled, poached, etc.). Have students make a pictograph of their favorite ways to eat eggs. Use elliptical shapes for the pictures on the graph or make it threedimensional by using sections of egg cartons for the pictures. Enlist some parent volunteers to assist the students in preparing breakfast in the classroom with eggs as the main dish. As the eggs are cooking, ask students to take note of the changes in matter that occur as the eggs turn from liquid to solid.
Page 2 Have students research animals besides birds that lay eggs. Encourage them to find one interesting fact about an animal s eggs, such as where they are laid, how many eggs there are, the size of the eggs, what the shell is like, etc., and write their information on egg-shaped pieces of paper. Also have them draw a picture of each animal on the paper egg. Put all the eggs on a metal ring with a title egg on top. Use a new vocabulary word in the title: Who s Oviparous? Students might also enjoy using the information from the above activity to make a matching game. Using construction paper eggs, have them draw a horizontal crack across the egg. On one side of the crack, they draw a picture of the oviparous animal. On the other side, they write an interesting fact about the animal s eggs. They then cut apart the egg along the crack, mix and match the two halves, and try to put them together again by matching the animal with its fact. View the segment on eggs in the Reading Rainbow program, The Day Jimmy s Boa Ate the Wash, and sing along to the song, Three Cheers for Eggs. Have students make up their own cheer for eggs. One possibility is, Gimme an E Gimme a G Gimme a G What s that spell? What s that spell? What s that spell? Another possibility is a chant. Instead of standing in a circle, stand students in the shape of an egg. (Go to a place where there is room enough to draw the shape on the floor or ground.) Have them snap their fingers in rhythm while one person chants, How does (insert the name of a student) like her/his eggs? That student responds, in the same rhythm, I like my eggs. That person then becomes the next person to chant the question. (This chant requires students to listen carefully to the speaker and to respond in a complete sentence.) As they chant, students move around the ellipse in the following manner: they step to the right with their right foot and then slide their left foot over to meet the right foot. They move around the ellipse step-slide, step-slide in this fashion. They move their feet in rhythm with the snapping of their fingers. Once they have moved right for awhile, they can step with their left foot and move around the ellipse in the opposite direction.
Page 3 Plan a field trip to a hatchery, turkey farm, or other type of poultry farm. Arrange for students to see eggs in incubation, eggs hatching (if possible), the baby animal, and the adult. Have students research the sizes of some bird eggs, such as ostrich, turkey, chicken, robin, and hummingbird. Once they know the sizes, have them measure and do a rough sketch of the bird s egg. Then, have them compare the size of the eggs to familiar objects and make statements about the comparisons, such as, A bluejay s egg is about the size of a walnut. Provide an array of different objects for them to use in their comparisons. Using some of the resources on loggerhead turtles (see Supplementary Booklist for suggestions), have students find different places in the world where they lay their eggs and mark them on a map. As they mark the map, discuss the features (geographical, climatic, etc.) that these locations have in common. SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLIST: SEA TURTLES by Caroline Arnold, illus. by Marshall Peck III (Scholastic) CHICKEN AND EGG by Christine Back (Silver Burdett) EGG: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STORY O HATCHING by Jane Burton & Kim Taylor (DK) ZINNIA AND DOT by Lisa Campbell Ernst (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) SEA TURTLES by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House) THE AMAZING EGG BOOK by Margaret Griffin & Deborah Seed (Addison-Wesley)
Page 4 INTO THE SEA by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illus. by Alix Berenzy (Henry Holt) SEA TURTLE JOURNEY: THE STORY O A LOGGERHEAD TURTLE by Lorraine A. Jay, illus. by Katie Lee (SoundPrints) WHAT S HATCHING OUT O THAT EGG? by Patricia Lauber (Crown) TRACKS IN THE SAND by Loreen Leedy (Doubleday) CLUCK ONE by Louise Mathews, illus. by Jeni Bassett (Dodd, Mead) TURTLE BAY by Saviour Pirotta, illus. by Nilesh Mistry ( arrar, Straus & Giroux) Distributed by: P.O. Box 80669 Lincoln, NE 68501-0669 Phone: 800-228-4630 ax: 800-306-2330 Email: gpn@unl.edu Web site: gpn.unl.edu
Page 1 Nestling In Key Words: egg, egg-laying animal, classify, category Concept: Animals can be classified in many different ways. Use this to stimulate thinking about egg-laying animals. Materials: Egg-shaped pieces of paper, pencils. 1. On egg-shaped pieces of paper, ask students to write the name of an animal that hatched from an egg. 2. Break the class into groups of 5-6, and have them find ways to classify their animal-labeled eggs. After they ve finished, ask a representative from each group to report the number and names of the categories they created. Then have them return to their groups and reclassify the animals by choosing new categories changing the number of categories they use. or example, a group who used two categories (e.g. land & water) for the first time, can use three (e.g. fins, fur and feathers) for the second. 3. inally, have groups trade eggs to classify. The Fun-Nest Bulletin Board Key Words: classification, pictograph Concept: Animals can be put in groups based on a classification system. Materials: Brown butcher or bulletin board paper, scissors, marker pen. Use the eggs created and the classification skills practiced in Nestling In to help create an interactive bulletin board.
Page 2 Create a nest out of paper that will cover the bottom of a bulletin board. Choose one system of classification that works for the eggs created in Nestling In (e.g. mammals-birds-reptiles-amphibians-fish or swim-fly-walkcrawl-slither). Label areas of the nest with these categories. Let students work together to place their egg near the label that best describes their animal. This can be turned into a graphing activity by simply stacking the eggs in a line over the labels to make a pictograph. Students can also use the information on the board to make a bar graph. In the days to come, students can expand the information on the bulletin board by doing research on each animal and adding facts to the egg (have them turn the egg over to write the animal s name and the fact on the back). Challenge students to continue until every egg has been turned over. Eggs-amination Key Words: egg, shell, yolk, white, air sac, germ spot, chalaza, shell membrane Concept: Eggs are composed of different parts that have specific functions. Take a closer look at a chicken egg. After discussing eggs and chicks (see the following questions and use the illustration to help identify the elements of an egg), break an egg to have a closer look. Discuss the functions of the shell which protects the egg from drying up, the yolk which nourishes the growing chick, and the egg white which cushions the chick and provides additional nutrition. Locate the air sac in the flatter part of the shell which passes air from the outside to the chick.
Page 3 Materials: Egg and pie plate. Q. Are the chicks alive before they hatch? A. Yes, in fact you can hear them peeping in the shell for a day or so before they hatch. Q. Will the eggs bought in a grocery store hatch? A. Supermarkets generally carry only unfertilized eggs, so they cannot hatch. Q. If the chick is alive before it hatches, then how does it breathe? A. The membrane that surrounds the chick allows gases to pass through, and the shell has small pores that let air in (if you look closely, you can see them). Q. Why doesn t the yolk settle to one side when it is laid on its side for so long? A. Structures called the chalaza (these are the white sting tissues connected to the yolk) extend through the long axis of the egg and connect to the yolk. This holds the yolk in place. Q. How much of the egg is what becomes the chick? A. On the yolk of a fertilized egg there is a darker disk about 1/8" (3 mm) across which is called the germ spot. This contains the nucleus, the beginning of the chick. Hatchings Key Words: hatching, eggs, developing, embryo Concept: Embryos change as they develop. Hatching snails is easy, cheap and dependable. They can be purchased at pet stores that handle aquatic and marine animals.*
Page 4 Materials: Snails, 2 large glass containers, aquatic plants, limestone chips or plaster of paris, water. 1. Put snails and aquatic plants in a water-filled glass container and set it in a well-lighted spot. This environment will usually provide the snails with enough food; however, it is best to add a few limestone chips or a small amount of plaster of paris as a calcium supplement to insure proper shell development. 2. Watch for jelly-like egg masses that will usually attach to the plants or the side of the container. The adults may eat the eggs, so remove them to another container. 3. The developing embryos can be observed through the transparent eggs. The snail will hatch in 2-3 weeks. Hatchlings look like miniatures of the adults and can be fed small amounts of dry fish food. * Brine shrimp (Artemia saltina) are another easily-hatched organism. They are available at the same outlets and usually come with everything needed for hatching, including instructions.
Page 5 Eggs-periments Key Words: eggshells, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide gas Concept: Eggshells are made primarily of calcium carbonate. Eggshells are primarily made of calcium carbonate. The acid in vinegar can break down the calcium carbonate of the eggshells and cause carbon dioxide gas bubbles to form. These bubbles are made of the same gas as the bubbles in soda pop. Materials: Paper towels, eggshells, baby food jars or small drinking glasses, white vinegar, water. 1. Rinse eggshells with water and dry them with a paper towel. Break them into pieces about 1/2" (1cm) in diameter. 2. Provide each student group with 2 glass containers one with a small amount of vinegar, the other with a small amount of water and a piece of shell. 3. Have them break the shell in half and put one half in the vinegar and the other half in water. (The shell in vinegar will release gas bubbles and will slowly begin to dissolve.) 4. After several hours, remove any remaining shells from the liquids, and compare the feel and strength of each. (The one in vinegar will be more brittle.)making Eggs-act Models Key Words: egg, fossil, dinosaur, hypothetical Concept: There are limits to what is known about fossil eggs.
Page 6 Making Eggs-act Models Key Words: egg, fossil, dinosaur, hypothetical Concept: There are limits to what is known about fossil eggs. Dinosaurs laid eggs and scientists have been able to study these in fossilized form. In Mongolia, an entire nest of fossilized Protoceratops eggs were discovered. These elongated eggs are 8" (20cm) long and are longitudinally striated. Hypselosaurus eggs, found in southern rance, are among the largest eggs ever discovered 10" (25cm) in diameter and almost spherical. Materials: Papier-mâché makings: wheat paste or wheat flour, newspaper and water; balloons, paints. 1. Locate a dinosaur book or encyclopedia that has pictures of a variety of dinosaur eggs. After a class discussion about these eggs, make eggs-act or hypothetical models. 2. Have students blow up oval balloons to the size needed for their dinosaur egg model. Use papier-mâché to cover the balloon. 3. After the egg models are dry, paint them. Since our knowledge about dinosaur eggs is based on fossilized eggs which have lost their original color, students can use their imaginations. Distributed by: P.O. Box 80669 Lincoln, NE 68501-0669 Phone: 800-228-4630 ax: 800-306-2330 Email: gpn@unl.edu Web site: gpn.unl.edu
RR Episode: Activity: Learner Objective: Materials Needed: Steps: Rechenka s Eggs Chicken s Aren t the Only Ones Creating a Soft-shelled Egg The student will be able to identify what mineral makes an egg shell hare and how to remove that mineral. The student will also be able to identify that reptile eggs are soft as similar to the egg with the calcium removed. Hard boiled eggs Clean containers in which to put eggs Vinegar Water 1. Ask the students what mineral makes an eggshell hard. Discuss that it is calcium, the same mineral that makes our teeth and bones strong. Ask if they know how to remove calcium from the eggshell. The answer is vinegar. 2. Pour vinegar into a clear container and carefully put in one egg. Pour water into another clear container and carefully put in another egg. 3. Discuss that over the next few days they will observe what gradually happens to the egg as the vinegar removes calcium from the shell. 4. In two days, repeat this process so that at the end of the experiment, you can get the eggs out and allow students to feel the changes the egg went through until the calcium was completely removed. Repeat again in two more days. 5. Compare the textures of the hard-shelled egg, eggs in the process of dissolving the calcium, and the egg with the calcium removed. Discuss that this is similar to the texture of reptile eggs (turtles, snakes, and dinosaur eggs, for example). Assessment: Students will b able to orally identify that calcium is the mineral that makes egg shells hard and that vinegar removes the calcium/ Students will also be able to identify animals who lay soft-shelled eggs. Page 1