Project-Based Learning Eggcellently Simplified

This is not Candling

Before the orders to stay at home, Tami Lence, a first-grade teacher at Silver Rail Elementary, along with her co-teachers Shalom Davis and Elizabeth Schneider, had a whole spring project planned, but they’ve had to simplify it. And yet even with modifications, it is an engaging unit that I wanted to share with you. It centers around 12 eggs that Tami is incubating at her house. Tami has been creating videos that demonstrate how the eggs are changing each day. In the video, she does what is called “candling”. I wasn’t sure what candling was until I watched her actually do it. So if you don’t know what candling is either, then you’re going to need to watch the videos below. It’s really fascinating!

So in the video, you see Tami candling the eggs and she also reads excerpts from the book, Where Do Chicks Come From by Amy Sklansky. Next, she incorporates pieces of The Chick Embryo Development YouTube video by Poultry Hub Australia. You’ll be impressed to know that she contacted Poultry Hub Australia to get permission to include pieces of their video within her own. It’s true that it never hurts to ask! After she’s shown all the different aspects of that certain stage the egg is in, she demonstrates how to journal about the egg and creates a diagram of it. The students do their own journals at home and turn them in on SeeSaw. Here are some examples:

Here are a couple of the videos that Tami made for her students. Be sure to watch so you can learn what Candling is!

It’s been fun for Tami to hear from parents how much their students are enjoying the unit:

“Both kids are absolutely loving the chicks. Jamie Rae was in shock about the chicks moving today. My bribe to get them to stop playing and start on school in the mornings has been “we can start with the chickens if you hurry!” 😂”

Parent quote from project

“Edith is super into the baby chicks!! 🙂 She’s been asking all day if there’s another video.”

Parent Quote from Project

About Christie Boen

I have worked with Bend-La Pine Schools since 2007. I am an Instructional Technology Coach and District Librarian.

2 Replies to “Project-Based Learning Eggcellently Simplified”

  1. Great article Christie–thanks for highlighting them! It has been so fun seeing what the first grade team here has been doing over the last few weeks in integrating the learning around the chick unit. I’ve had so much fun following the chick hatching as well. Coming next year…live chick cam at SRE!