Classroom Projects Designed to Provide You with Background Information and Exciting Experiential Activities Dealing with Life Science for Use in Your Classroom
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National 4-H Curriculum BU-07595 HaHaClassrtchingtchingoom Projects Helper's Guide Beginner Grades 2-5 Dear Educator, Embryology: Hatching Classroom Projects designed to provide you with background information and exciting experiential activities dealing with life science for use in your classroom. Each activity is designed to be grade-level appropriate and has been correlated to U.S. National Science Education Standards. Children have a natural sense of curiosity about living things in the world around them. Building on this curiosity, students can develop an understanding of biology through direct experience with living things, their life cycles and their habitats. This curriculum was developed with your students in mind. Many believe students learn best by interacting with the world— by listening, observing, experimenting and applying their knowledge to real-world situations. Each activity within this curriculum follows these steps in the experiential learning model. An additional goal of this curriculum is to help students develop life skills. Life skills help an individual live a productive and satisfying life. Within this curriculum your students will have the opportunity to develop life skills related to science processes, managing, thinking, working, relating and living a healthy lifestyle. We hope that Embryology: Hatching Classroom Projects is an enjoyable experience for both you and your students as well as a beneficial unit in your life science curriculum. Here are a few quotes from kids who worked with our pilot: The best part of learning about chickens and embryos was... “Watching the eggs hatch and getting to play with the little chicks.” “Seeing the cute little chicks after they had hatched.” “Seeing how the embryos develop inside the shells. I also liked watching the Acknowledgements chicks get their first white feathers and Design Team: Phillip J. Clauer, Design Team see them grow.” Chairperson, Extension Poultry Specialist, Virginia Tech; Donna Bailey, 4-H Extension Agent, Maryland; Caitlin Boon, “It was fun the whole time.” Poultry Science Student; Debbie Curry, Vice President Programs and Education, Discovery Place, Inc., Nature Museum; “The best part was seeing how the Gary Davis, Extension Poultry Specialist, NC State University; chick hatched. It was cool how it Mickey Hall, Extension Poultry Specialist, Clemson; Ed Maxa, pecked its way around the shell.” Extension 4-H Specialist, NC Cooperative Extension Service. “The best thing was when they Writing: Mark Jost Editing: Kate McCarthy hatched. It was really exciting. Photography: Mark Sumner, Virginia Tech I also liked learning about Design and Production: Northern Design Group, MN hatching eggs. I learned so Other assistance from: much that I didn't know before.” Tom Zurcher Jim Adams Pam Segall–Roberts HatchingClassroom Projects Table of Contents Introduction Embryology and the National Science Standards _______ 2 Experiential learning model ________________________ 3 Life skill development _____________________________ 4 Science skills ___________________________________ 4 Activity matrix___________________________________ 5 Getting organized Planning and scheduling __________________________ 6 Background for a successful project__________________ 7 The reproductive system and fertilization _____________ 10 Daily embryonic development _____________________ 12 The activities Eggsploring the egg_____________________________ 14 Pick a chick ___________________________________ 16 Warming up with eggs ___________________________ 18 Building an eggs-ray viewer_______________________ 20 Playing peek-a-boo with embryos __________________ 22 Building a home ’tweet home______________________ 24 Counting the chicks _____________________________ 26 Caring and handling_____________________________ 28 Eggsploring careers_____________________________ 30 References Glossary______________________________________ 32 Student assessment rubric _______________________ 34 Reproducible student activity sheets ________________ 36 Embryology record sheet _________________________ 42 Resources ____________________________________ 44 Insert: A Closer Look embryology poster 1 Introduction Embryology and the National Science Standards A classroom unit in embryology will help you meet the following National Science Standards: Abilities necessary to conduct Life cycles of organisms scientific inquiry Animals have life cycles including birth, Ask questions about objects, organisms maturation, reproduction and death. and events in the environment. Animals closely resemble their parents. Plan and conduct a simple investigation. Use simple equipment and tools Organisms and their environments to gather data. All animals depend on plants. Some Use data to construct a reasonable animals eat plants for food. Other animals explanation. eat animals that eat the plants. Communicate investigations and An organism’s patterns of behavior are explanations. related to the nature of that organism’s environment, including the kinds and The characteristics of organisms numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food, resources and Organisms have basic needs. Organisms the physical characteristics of the can survive only in environments in which environment. their needs can be met. Each animal has different structures that Abilities of technological design serve different functions in growth, survival and reproduction. Identify a simple problem. The behavior of individual organisms Propose a solution. is influenced by internal cues and by Implement proposed solutions. external cues. Evaluate a product or design. Communicate a problem, design and solution. 2 Experiential learning model Experiential learning means having students do hands-on Experience activities, reflect on the meaning and apply what they The model begins with experience, learned. This process helps ensure that the students learn action. This immediately focuses the actively and make knowledge a part of their world. It also attention on the learner rather than helps students answer questions such as “Why should I the teacher. This requires active co- learn this?” and “Now that I know this, what do I do next?” operation from the learner, coupled with guidance from the teacher to help maintain the learner’s curiosity. Teaching becomes a cooperative enterprise. 1. Share Experience the activity; Sharing is simply asking the group or perform, individuals, What did you do? What do it happened? What did it feel like to do (whatever)? This step should generate 5. 2. lots of information to lead to the Apply Share process step. what was learned the results, Process to a similar or Experiential reactions, different situation; observations The questions and discussion now practice Learning publicly become more focused on what was most important about the experience. Model Common themes that emerge from the sharing session are explored further. Often the key teaching points related to the subject matter are discussed. 4. Process3. Generalize Generalize to connect the the experience; experience to discuss, analyze, In this step the experience is related to real-world reflect a real-world example. This step helps examples the student to answer the questions, Why should I learn this? What did the experience mean to me personally? To my everyday life? Subject matter and Pfeiffer and Jones’ Model life skill development can be discussed Pfeiffer, J.W., & Jones, J.E., “Reference Guide to Handbooks and Annuals” © 1983 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted with permission in this step. For example, if you hope of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. that the activity helps students develop teamwork skills, then questions about teamwork would be appropriate. Providing an experience alone does not create Apply “experiential learning.” The activity comes first. The This step helps the student answer the learning comes from the thoughts and ideas created question, Now that I know this, what do as a result of the experience. This is a “learn by doing” I do next? Can students express what or experiential process. Addressing each step in they learned? Can they use what they the process assures a purposeful plan to obtain a learned? Can the student actually specific goal. apply the learning to a new situation? 3 Life skill Science development skill A skill is a learned ability to do something well. Life These skills represent the scientific thinking skills are abilities we can learn that will help us to be and process skills that are essential to scientific successful in living a productive and satisfying life. inquiry. An inquiry based science classroom uses The following is a list of skills that students will and encourages the use of these skills develop through experiencing the activities within in science activities. this curriculum. Also included is a set of criteria that can act as indicators to determine if the life skill is Observing – Generating reasonable questions about being developed. the world based on observation. Examples: Planning and organizing –A method for doing Seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. something that has been thought out ahead of time; how the parts can be put together. Comparing and measuring – Using simple Indicator: measurement tools to provide consistency Student can develop a part of a plan. in an investigation. Keeping records – Recording selected useful Examples: information, usually focused for a specific purpose. Sensory observations, weight, quantity, quality, temperature and capacity. Indicator: Student