Mrs. Plough's Class

The Incredible Egg!

Our class received eggs on April 22nd from Portage County's 4-H program. We are incubating 24 chicken eggs and 4 duck eggs. We watch the temperature of the incubator and we watch the humidity. We learned both are important for the developing chicks.
We have a calendar that shows us what the chicks should look like inside the egg. The calendar says the chicks should begin to hatch on May 13th. The ducks will take another week or more. We candled (We really will use a flashlight, not candle.) some of the eggs and saw them moving inside the shell! We learned not to count them from a book Mrs. Plough read us a book titled Don't Count Your Chicks by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire.
While we are waiting, we have been writing our thoughts and writing what we have learned so far about eggs. You can read what we have written so far.

"We are not allowed to hold the eggs. I can't wait until they day they hatch is here." Cody

"Baby chick eggs need a turner in the incubator because the baby chicks inside will get stuck and if the chick gets stuck, they will die. We don't want them to die because we want to see them when they hatch. They need moisture because if they don't have moisture, the eggs will get dry and inside the chicks will dry out and die."
Katylyn

"I can't wait until they hatch. I hope they all hatch. I might get to take one chicken or maybe a duck. There are 7 more days until the chicks hatch. Thre are 14 days until the ducks hatch."
Ryan

"This is what I learned from Mrs. Plough. She told me that the temperature in the incubator should be 99 and a half but we can have it 95 to 100 degrees. I love chicks. They are cute. Mrs. Plough said she hopes none of them die. I hope they don't die either. I love waiting for the chicks."
Tabitha

"I like chicks because they are soft and fluffy. I hope all of the chicks hatch. There are 7 more days until the chicks hatch. There are 14 more days until the ducks hatch."
by Zane

"I can't wait until they hatch. What most concerns the class is that the lightest touch of the thermometer can change the temperature and can kill the chicks. When chicks are born, even when they have their little fur, you can't tell if they are a girl or a boy until they are grown up. If you have chick eggs and an incubator, you need an egg mover. The reason is so that when they hatch,they don't get stuck to the shell. I hope we have a lot."
Alyssa

"I can not wait until the chicks hatch. I really want to see the chicks. We can not help the chicks out of the shell. I like chicks. The temperature has to be 97 to 100 degrees." Brianna

"We have chicken eggs in our classroom. They are in an incubator. It has to be 99 and a half degrees. We have duck eggs too, in the incubator. They will hatch later than the chickens."
Joey

"I learned that the temperature for the chicks and ducks should be 99 and half degrees. The chicks are going to hatch on the 13th of May. The ducks are going to hatch on the 20th of May."
Tony

"I hope all of the chicks hatch out of their eggs. When they are grown up they will be chickens. The temperature is important. We have to keep it right around 99 and a half. Keeping it a little lower is better than a little higher. I like the chicks. Some will be yellow and some will be brown, I think."
Brian

"Chicks hatch from eggs, so do ducks. They are wet when they come out of their shell. They are yellow and puffy. I wish I could have a pet chick".
Breanna

"When the chicks hatch they just will lay there. You might think they are dead, but they are not. They are sleeping because they will be tired from pecking out of their shell. In the incubator it has to be 99 and a half degrees." Danielle

"When the chicks hatch we are not aloud to help them out of the shell. The temperature has to be 99 and a half. I can't wait until the chicks hatch. WE have 4 duck eggs. It takes longer for the ducks to hatch."
Hailey

Chicks
Small, cute,
yellow, fuzzy, pecking
hatching and playing together
PEEPS!
by Matisse

Chicks
Our chicks will be cute to see
Yellow and fuzzy they will be
It will be fun to hear "Chirp, chirp, peep, peep!"
In our classroom won't that be neat?
by Kaytlyn

Eggs
White, shiney,
They hatch something
Guess what it is!
Chick, ducks, and
Other things.
by Tabitha

Ohio Language Arts Standards:

1.Writing Processes:
Generate writing ideas through discussions with others; develop a main idea for writing; Use organizaional strategies to plan writing; Use available technology to compose text; Add descriptive words and details; Illustrate writing samples for display and for sharing with others.
2.Writing Application:
Produce informal writings for various purposes.
3. Writing Conventions:
Use nouns and pronouns that are in agreement; Spell regularly used words correctly.

Ohio Science Standards

Scientific Inquiry: Interdependence and Survival of Animals in the United States.
1. Organisms have basic needs: Recognize that animals have features that help them live in their environment.
2. Compare and contrast habitats of animals;
Compare and contrast how animals are alike and different.

Technology Standards:

1. Basic operations and concepts: Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues: Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning.

3. Technology communications tools: Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.