Take your classroom on an adventure on the farm.
What is more fascinating than seeing a fully developed baby chick emerge from an egg? Just three weeks of incubation transforms a seemingly lifeless chicken egg into an active, living being. 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 concepts through direct experience with living things, their life cycles and their habitats. This curriculum was developed with your students in mind. Many believe that students learn best through their experiences and interactions with the world. They learn 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.
Embryology Lessons For Teachers
This course is designed to provide elementary and middle school teachers with knowledge on the chicken's egg, its importance to man, and its role in reproduction of the species. Course content will be oriented to train teachers to conduct classroom incubation and embryonic development projects. Detailed information on the stages of embryonic development and the preservation of embryos will be included. Instructional methods will include lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and visual aids. Suggestions on how to use classroom incubation and embryonic development projects to enhance programs in science, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and art will be offered. This hands-on project is designed to give your students the opportunity to hatch chicks in their own classroom. During the 21-day incubation period, students learn to prepare eggs, set up an incubator, record progress, turn eggs, and test eggs for fertility. The project aligns with state learning standards.
For youth grades K-8th
- To train educators in the science and techniques of hatching chicks
- To increase STEM skills, life skills, and science abilities in youth through incubation and embryology
- To provide opportunities for youth to demonstrate and practice skills mastered in embryology
2023 4-H Incubation and Embryology Program: Training & Egg Order
2023 INCUBATION & EMBRYOLOGY in the CLASSROOM
What is more fascinating than seeing a fully developed baby chick emerge from an egg? Just three weeks of incubation transforms a seemingly lifeless chicken egg into an active, living being. This interactive project through the University of Illinois Extension's 4-H program is designed to allow your students to hatch chicks in their classroom/learning environment. During the 21-day incubation period, students learn how to prepare eggs, set up an incubator, record progress, turn eggs, and test eggs for fertility. The project aligns with state learning standards.
- 4-H provides training (online this year), classroom resources, and egg-ordering services so that educators can bring embryology to their classrooms.
- Educators attend training, provide program equipment and supplies for their classroom, teach and oversee the program for their students, and provide participant information and program evaluation data to the 4-H program.
2023 Program/Registration Options:
- Beginner Training: First-time teachers can attend one of two virtual training sessions: Wednesday, February 15, or Tuesday, March 7, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Led by U of I Extension Poultry Specialist Dr. Ken Koelkebeck. 2 PDH may be earned. A Zoom link will be sent prior to the training. Cost: $35 includes training, access to training materials, and 4-H staff availability for questions.
- Advanced Training: Refresher course for teachers that have attended the beginner training and have run the project in the past. Choice of two virtual trainings: Thursday, February 16, or Wednesday, March 8, from 4:30-6 p.m. Led by U of I Extension Poultry Specialist Dr. Ken Koelkebeck. 1.5 PDH may be earned. A Zoom link will be sent prior to the training. Cost: $25 includes training, access to training materials, and 4-H staff availability for questions.
- Fertile Egg Orders: This option is for teachers who have been trained recently and do not need training. Cost: $15 per dozen fertile eggs for the project, chick feed, access to training materials, and 4-H staff availability for questions. (Note: Our trainers recommend that educators doing the embryology project complete a beginner or advanced training once every five years to achieve continued success.)
Important dates for the 2023 program:
- Training and fertile egg orders registration: Opens January 16, until February 10, 2023
- Beginner training options: February 15 or March 7 - 4:30-6:30 p.m.
- Advanced training options: February 16 or March 8 - 4:30-6 p.m.
- Fertile egg pick up: Tuesday, April 11, 2023, Arlington Heights, Chicago, and Matteson
- Hatch week: May 1-5
- Chick Drop Off: May 5, 2023, at either Arlington Heights or Chicago Locations
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE COMPLETING THE REGISTRATION
General Program Notes:
- Teachers must provide their own equipment to participate in this project.
- We cannot guarantee the fertility of eggs (average 90% fertility rate)
- We cannot guarantee the hatching success of eggs
- Egg pick-up is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11 at the signup location you chose at the time of registration.
- If you are requesting PDH hours, please provide your Illinois Educator's Identification Number (IEIN) at the time of registration.
- Our trainers recommend that educators participating in the embryology project complete a beginner or advanced training once every five years to achieve continued success
Payment: Credit charges will be billed as 'University of Illinois' charges on your card statement. Checks must be received by March 1, 2023. If you are sending one check for multiple teachers participating in the program, please indicate the names registered in your correspondence. Please mail payment to University of Illinois Extension, 8751 S. Greenwood Ave., Suites 112-122, Chicago, Illinois 60619. No refunds once an order is placed due to fertile egg supplier requirements.
Complete Registration: Please complete all of the registration questions. You also will receive an Illinois 4-H Program Group Enrollment form to fill out. Extension receives local, state, and federal funding and is therefore required to gather demographic data. Completion of this demographic information (for all youth who will benefit from the program) is required for egg pick-up. We appreciate you using raw numbers and not percentages as you complete the form.
At the program's conclusion, we will ask that you complete an evaluation to better serve you in the future.
Thank you for your participation in our program!