IDEC Lesson Plan Format

1. Lesson Name/Title: The Life Cycle of a Chicken

2. SOLs/Foundation
Blocks
Social Studies and History
K. 2 Change over time
English L.12 Writing

Science K.7 Life

Processes
Science K.9 c) Animal
Growth
Art K.11 Visual
Communication and
Production

3. Objective(s)

4. Assessment of Objective(s)

Student will be able to

discuss that animals
change over time.
Student will be able to
use letters to spell the
words The life cycle
of a chicken.
Student will be able to
discuss basic needs
of animals and life
cycles.
Student will be able to
discuss animal growth
and change.

Listen to the students answers about how

baby animals change over time. (anecdotal
record)
Check students writing for correctness (an
example will be on the board for a
reference).

Student will be able to

use motor skills to
create two and threedimensional art
(tracing, pulling,
tearing, folding,
cutting).

Ask students what animals need. Listen to

their answers (anecdotal record).
Ask students how animals grow and
change and if a chick looks like its parent.
Listen to students answers. (anecdotal
record)
Assess students completed life cycle, make
sure student has followed directions and all
steps are complete.

5. Materials
Large egg with rectangle drawn in the middle for student to write The life cycle of a chicken
Three small eggs one with a crack in it.
Orange construction paper
Pencils
Crayons
Brown paper bag
Scissors
Baby chicks and chicken eggs in the incubator in the classroom across the hall.
Life Cycle of a Chicken poster
6. Optimal Students/Seating Arrangement for the Lesson
Whole group on the rug to read the poster and discuss the life cycle.
Whole group on the rug to complete an example of the life cycle step by step.
Students desks while students complete their life cycle.
7. Lesson Sequence

Introduction (1:00-1:10)
Take students to the classroom across the hall to see the baby chicks that hatched the
previous morning. Let each child see the chicks. Return to the classroom and read a
poser Life Cycle of a Chicken. Discuss the differences and how the chick is changing
and growing.

What you will do/say

We are going to go to Mrs. Sykes room.
Remember when we talked about the eggs

What the student(s) do/say

Students will be very excited and say keeps
the eggs warm, helps them grow, ect.

she had in the incubator, some of them

hatched last night! Who can remind me what
an incubator is and what it does?
Lets go see the little chicks, they get scared if
we talk too loud and can get hurt, so we need
to be as quiet as we can while we visit them.
Take the students across the hall, you might
need to pick up some students so they can
see into the container.
Return to the classroom and have students sit
on the rug.
Read the poster with the class. The title of
this poster says, The Life Cycle of a Chicken.
First the chick is inside the egg growing, then it
begins to break out of the shell using a tooth
on its beak. Next the chick breaks all the way
out of the egg shell, when it dries it will be
fluffy; just like the chicks we just saw! Last, the
chick grows into an adult chicken.
Does the baby chick look like the grown up
chicken?
Well they both have a beak, two feel, two
wings, feathers, and eyes. How are they
different?
Does anyone know what kind of animal this
is?
Thats right! Chickens are oviparous, why are
they oviparous?
Exactly they lay eggs!

Students get in line to go to Mrs. Sykes room.

Students get to see the baby chicks.
Students sit in their spots on the rug.
Students listen to the life cycle and make
comments and ask questions relating the cycle
to the chicks they just saw.

Students may say yes or not. Point out that the

similarities and differences.
The chick has fur (common misconception,
explain that the chick also has feathers but
they are just very small and fluffy), the chick is
yellow, the chick is smaller, ect.
Students will say oviparous (a new word they
are learning about).
They lay eggs!

Procedures (1:10-1:25)
Complete an example of the life cycle with the students. Go through and explain each
step while you are completing the steps. Hang it on the easel for students to use as a
reference.

What you will do/say

We are going to make a life cycle of a chicken
too! First you are going to take this very big
egg and cut it out on the black line. Cut out
the large egg.
Then we are going to write in this rectangle in
the middle, what do you think we are going to
write. What are we making?
Yes, we are going to write The life cycle of a
chicken. Write The life cycle of a chicken,
have students help you sound out the words.
Who remembers what the first step is? Is the
chick already out of the egg?
Youre right! We are going to take a brown
paper bag and tear it into pieces to make a
little nest or spot for our egg to stay warm.
After you rip it into little pieces you are going to
glue it on to the top of the large egg.

What the student(s) do/say

Students listen to directions.

Life cycle!, Chicken life cycle!, ect.

Students will help the teacher sound out the
words as the teacher writes them.
No! The chick is in the egg!
Students listen to directions.

Now you are going to take this piece of paper

with three smaller eggs on it. Cut out the
smallest egg and glue it onto the nest we
made.
What happens next? We saw one egg in
Mrs. Sykes room that was starting to do this.
The egg starts to crack because the chick is
using that tooth on his beak to get out. You are
going to cut out the egg with the crack on it
and glue it on the right side of the box right
here Show students where the next egg goes.
After you glue it on you are going to draw
some eyes and a nose inside the cracked part
of the egg and color that part yellow because
you can see the chick!
What do you think the next step is?
Yes you are going to take the last egg you still
have and cut it out and glue it at the bottom of
the big egg. Do you think the egg is going to
be for the chicks feet?
Yes, it is going to be the chicks body! I am
going to color the body yellow and use a black
crayon to draw on some yes, feet, and some
arms or wings. What is the chick missing?
The chick needs a beak to eat! You are going
to cut a little square out of the orange paper
and then fold it to make a triangle like this.
Show the students how to fold their paper.
Now you are going to put glue just on one
side of the folded square and turn the triangle
upside down for his beak that will open and
close!
Who can tell me what the last step of our life
cycle will be?
We are going to trace our hand to make the
adult chicken. Trace your hand with a pencil.
I am going to use a black crayon to draw the
chickens eye and wing since he is sideways
and we can only see one. And a red crayon to
draw his feathers on top of his head.
What is our chicken missing?
I am going to cut out a little triangle from the
orange paper for his beak. And cut feet out of
the orange paper too. If you want you can
draw the feet and beak on your chicken. I am
going to color the rest of my chicken red.
the Draw the rest of the arrows onto the
large egg.
The last thing you need to add is the arrows
telling which way the life cycle goes. It starts at
Are all chickens red?
When you make your chicken, you can color
the chicken any color that you have seen a
chicken. But not any silly colors. We want this
to look real.

Students listen to directions.

The egg cracks!, the chick gets out, it

starts to open, the answers will vary.
The students might think it is silly that you can
see the chick in this egg.

The chick is out!, the egg breaks open, ect.

No for his body!

Students will come up with some different

answers, but one will tell you a beak.
Students might ask questions.

Students listen to directions. Some students

will tell the class that they are going to make a
big beak, small beak, ect.
A grown up chick, chicken, adult chicken,
ect.
Students listen to directions.
Students listen to directions.

Students will answer Feet and beak.

Egg!

Students listen to the directions.

No!
Students listen to directions.

When I call your name you can come up and

get your very big egg and the small eggs and
start on your life cycle. Call on students who
are sitting quietly and ready to begin.

Students will return to their desks to complete

their life cycle when they get their materials.

Closure (1:25-1:45)
Students will complete their own life cycle of a chicken. Walk around the room and assist
students or remind students of steps they may have missed.

What you will do/say

Walk around the room and assist students.
Some students who finish may need a
reminder of a step they forgot or missed.
Collect the life cycles when the students finish.
If some students finish early they can get a
busy bag. When you are finished with your life
cycle and a teacher has checked it, you can
get a busy bag.

What the student(s) do/say

Students will complete their life cycles of a
chicken.
Students will finish their life cycles and get a
busy bag until it is time to move on to reading
and writing centers.

8. Modifications for children at different learning levels

Have the small eggs already glued onto the big egg.
Have the beaks precut and folded.
Draw the arrows onto the large egg.
Have the paper bag pieces already torn.
Have small eggs precut.
9. Reflections
From this lesson I learned that the students had excellent prior knowledge of a life cycle and
how to construct one. They were very helpful when I was putting mine together and going
through the steps. It was very convenient that the eggs across the hall hatched the night before
this lesson was implemented. The students were very engaged and excited to complete their life
cycle after seeing the live baby chicks. Although this lesson had a lot of steps, the students did a
great job remembering the steps or using my example as a reference. Students only forgot
minor details such as the arrows or drawing the feet on the chick or chicken. I had to work with
one or two students to help them draw their arrows, they had never drawn arrows before. This
was a little unexpected but a great teaching and learning moment for the student because it
does get confusing that some arrows are pointing down and the others are pointing up. The
students really understood the life cycle and how animals; specifically chicks grow and change
as they get older. The students really enjoyed decorating their life cycle with materials other
than crayons. I would implement this lesson the same the next time I teach it.