A Teacher's Guide
Many teachers apply the adage, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I’ll remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” Teachers include the life sciences in their curricula, but available science projects that involve and excite students are scarce. Hatching chicken eggs, examining embryos, and observing a beating heart offer the involvement and excitement necessary for a good classroom project. |
A wide variety of egg and embryo projects can be developed to teach basic scientific principles and techniques to students from kindergarten to grade twelve. An experiment with chick embryos can lay the foundation for understanding subjects as diverse as nutrition and the circulatory system, or it can teach measurement and the collection and analysis of data. These projects expand biological literacy, introduce complex concepts, and develop an intuitive appreciation for life and life science. These experiences are too rare, especially for students in a modern urban environment.
This technical manual supports the efforts of classroom teachers. The manual contains complete information for successfully incubating and hatching chicken eggs in a classroom setting. The manual details the entire process, from ordering the fertile eggs to the time the chicks are 1 day old, and includes a glossary of essential terms. A resource list of helpful publications, visual aids, and sources of information appears at the end of the manual.
The author encourages communication from users of the publications in the Egg and Embryo Life Science Series. The Series includes a slide set with an accompanying text, “Chicken Embryo Development.” Soon, other texts and computer software support will be distributed to teachers through Texas Extension Service professionals. Laboratory training sessions are available for groups of interested teachers.
Work by F.-Y. Kuo formed the initial basis for this manual. Please convey comments and inquiries to your county Extension agent or contact the author directly. The author’s address and telephone number are included at the end of the publication.