Learning With An Egg
Learning should be fun and enjoyable for those involved. When teaching takes on a life of its own, it creates a world of learning and builds imagination. A simple object such as an egg can create an array of teaching and learning opportunities. Lets explore one lesson I did with my mixed age group of students ranging from 1 years old to 12 years old.
At the end of the lesson my students learned all of the following:
Where eggs come from
What comes from eggs
How to cook eggs
What a raw egg looks and feels like
What a hard boiled egg looks and feels like
How to spell egg
Cause and Effect of dropping an egg
How things change with heat
How elements change from one form to another
The three states of matter (Solid, Liquid, Gas)
The shape of an egg
The parts of an egg
Opposites Hot and Cold
How to be gentle
How you know an egg is done cooking
What is needed to make an egg hard boiled
Steps to being safe boiling an egg
Kitchen safety rules and tips
Problem solving on how to save the egg
Supported and built social and emotional skills
School Age Students
Our school age students were taught about kitchen safety and how heat can change an object. They helped us put the eggs onto boil and watched them. They learned how to determine when the eggs are boiled and ready. They were assistance during the activity and enjoyed being apart of the lesson. They also made hypothesizes to test during the experiment.
Toddlers and Preschoolers
Our toddlers and preschoolers were engaged in conversations and were able to share their thoughts. We added songs and stories to add depth to our lesson. We wanted the students to understand where eggs come from and be able to name at least two animals that lay eggs other then just birds. We read stories about an egg that went on an adventure and other egg concepts. This also helped the students make a connection to the lesson and retain the information in a healthy manner.
For the activity we talked and had an open discussion about eggs. With the use of open ended questions the conversation was able to enhance and help develop the students understanding of the lesson. We used questions that would encourage the students to think deeper and higher order. Open ended questions are questions that require more then a yes or no response. This helps builds critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Supportive Materials:
Stories on YouTube
The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZMLW-_qx18
Baby Chick Hatching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F38tIGO5TFY
Hatch, Little Egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jumxXqg_U1c
The Good Egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXwQQqHwajs
Songs on YouTube
Eggs Eggs, We Like Eggs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyKOsBmYSt8
Guess the Eggs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nY1ZrjVDmI
Baby Egg Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N0ScpXM-MI
Videos to Explain on YouTube
What Comes From an Egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeCzAuLpSqQ
Parts of an Egg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZD3go1VEfg