Students Care for Chicks in Class

Kindergartners, who have been tending to their classrooms’ incubators, watched several eggs hatch in class and cared for the chicks once they arrived.

During the learning experience, which placed a strong emphasis on writing and science, the students cared for the eggs and learned about the growing embryo and life cycle of a chicken. Once the chicks – which took approximately 21 days to hatch – arrived, the students observed their behaviors, noted their characteristics and wrote down their observations. The kindergartners also read fiction and nonfiction books and wrote poetry and songs about chicks. 

“The opportunity to share this experience with the students is amazing,” teacher Janissa Wiles said. “The students learned that there is a process and learned the patience of waiting for the development of the chick. Many students in several classes got to watch the actual chicks hatching from the eggs. When this is happening, a new level of learning occurs in our classrooms.”

While the tradition has spanned decades at the school, it was put on hold for two years due to COVID-19 restrictions. Science teacher Susan Monaco provided first and second graders with the opportunity to watch the hatching of the eggs as part of their science studies.

“The students learned about the different parts of an egg, the life cycle of a chicken and the characteristics and structures of chickens that help them to survive,” Monaco said. “When the chicks arrived, the students made scientific observations about how the chicks looked and how the chicks behaved.”