Last week, elementary students across Frenship welcomed baby chicks into the world as they hatched in first-grade classrooms. One of the science TEKS for first grade is understanding life cycles. To help make this lesson more memorable Sarah Burleson, the Frenship ISD Coordinator of Science, encouraged classes to observe eggs and hatching.
Burleson helped coordinate with the West Texas A&M University Agriculture Department to deliver the eggs and pick them up a few days after hatching.
After learning about life cycles, the students watched the embryos develop inside the eggs. The baby chick eggs sit in the incubator for 21 days with candling periodically to observe the development process. This involves a shiny light outside of the egg so the students can see the chickens grow and develop before hatching.
Alexis ByBee, a first-grade teacher at Oak Ridge Elementary, housed some of the chicks in her classroom and stated the students were excited to learn more about the chicks every day.
“It's important to have engaging lessons for elementary students to see that what we are learning in class really does have real-world applications outside of school,” said ByBee. “It's much more fun and exciting to learn about life cycles in real time versus continually on worksheets.”
Students across the district watched in awe as the baby chicks emerged from their eggs and started figuring out how to walk and chirp. A chorus of "oos" and "ahs" could be heard anytime the students started seeing the changes happen. Because this lesson was so hands-on, Jenna Martinez, a first-grade teacher at Westwind Elementary, stated the students were extremely interested.
“The students are much more engaged in learning about life cycles with hands-on experiences such as this,” said Martinez. “This experience also makes the lesson much more memorable.”
Once all the chicks were hatched, Burleson arranged for the chicks to be taken back by the WTAMU Agricultural Department. While the students miss their classroom companions, they remember the lessons learned during their time with the chicks.