BREAKING OUT CHICKS GIVE STUDENTS SOMETHING TO PEEP ABOUT.Byline: Carol Rock Staff WriterVALENCIA - Valley View Elementary teacher Karla Hicks Hicks , Edward 1780-1849. American painter of primitive works, notably The Peaceable Kingdom, of which nearly 100 versions exist. put all her eggs in one basket for her third-grade students - and hatched some serious learning. ``I've been able to include 35 standards in this,'' she said, standing near a white incubator incubator, apparatus for the maintenance of controlled conditions in which eggs can be hatched artificially. Incubator houses with double walls of mud, a fireroom, and several compartments each holding about 6,000 hens' eggs were developed in ancient times; the that was emitting e·mit tr.v. e·mit·ted, e·mit·ting, e·mits 1. To give or send out (matter or energy): isotopes that emit radioactive particles; a stove emitting heat. 2. a. faint peeping sounds. ``Math, division, fractions, research techniques, oral presentations, not to mention the life science.'' Hicks' class was a popular place Monday morning, as children trooped in to see four newly hatched chickens in the heated enclosure. Twenty days before, her class received 24 eggs assumed to be fertile that students prepared for the incubator that would eventually yield a flock of chirping chirp n. A short, high-pitched sound, such as that made by a small bird or an insect. intr.v. chirped, chirp·ing, chirps To make a short, high-pitched sound. birds. ``We had one casualty,'' Hicks said. ``It was dropped accidentally.'' On Day 8, the class ``candled'' the eggs with a film strip projector to see the air sac air sac n. A tiny, thin-walled, capillary-rich sac in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called alveolar sac. and the embryo, which looks like a question mark. Three proved fertile, and the 20 remaining eggs remained in the incubator. ``And they're hatching today,'' Hicks said. Around a white board that proclaimed pro·claim tr.v. pro·claimed, pro·claim·ing, pro·claims 1. To announce officially and publicly; declare. See Synonyms at announce. 2. ``Welcome Daisy, Lucy, Billy Bob and Ralph,'' Hicks' pupils quietly wrote pages for their chicken books, filled with facts garnered through their research and hands-on experience. The children learned to wash their hands before touching the eggs, which had to be turned over three times a day in the 99-degree atmosphere. Each shell was carefully marked with an X and an 0 so they would know which side should be up at the turning times. A calendar created by pupil Tom Fellbaum's mother noted the different development steps and reminders for the care of the hoped-for chicks. ``Mrs. Fellbaum offered the incubator and arranged for us to get the eggs from one of the vendors at the farmers market at the college,'' Hicks said. ``It's been amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. for the kids. They're learning so much more than they would without this experience.'' Hicks cut short a getaway last weekend when she heard there had been a power outage Noun 1. power outage - equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails; "the ice storm caused a power outage" power failure equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown" at the school, rushing back to take the eggs and incubator home so it could get back to the required temperature. ``All I could think was: Don't let this fail now, the kids have worked so hard and waited so long,'' she said. Hicks was rewarded by a chirping sound Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , when she noticed that one of the chicks had poked through its shell. Three more chicks made their appearance, at 5, 7 and 7:45 a.m., just in time for students to admire and cheer their arrival. Hicks said the gender of each chicken will not be known for another four months. ``Lucy could be a rooster rooster its crowing at dawn heralds each new day. [Western Folklore: Leach, 329] See : Dawn rooster symbol of maleness. [Folklore: Binder, 85] See : Virility for all we know,'' Hicks joked. Suddenly, one of the students cried ``Susie's hatching,'' prompting a rush to peek into the incubator at the fifth chick. Rachel McGowan did a little victory dance near the front of the room in celebration. ``I liked seeing them hatch,'' she said. ``And we learned a lot of science and some math, which is my favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. subject.'' As the yellow and brown chick moved lazily back and forth rocking its shell, Hicks showed some concern. ``I think I see blood in the water beneath it,'' she whispered. ``But this is part of the cycle that we all have to experience.'' Each student took some fun fact away from the experiment and the research it entailed. ``It's cool to know that chicken hearts can beat 315 times a minute,'' Ryan Myers said. ``I learned that chickens can run up to 9 miles per hour and that they cannot fly because of their delicate wings,'' added Brett Villalovos. Annette Choi said the hatching process was exceptionally interesting and ``not as boring as it is in textbooks.'' Her desk partner, Alice Kim, was excited because her parents had given permission for her to bring one of the chickens home as a pet. ``I liked the life cycle so we can see what chickens look like as they grow,'' said Neo Shen Shen, in the Bible, place, perhaps close to Bethel, near which Samuel set up the stone Ebenezer. . ``I was excited to come to school today.'' Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Students in Karla Hicks' third-grade class check out newly hatched chicks in an incubator the kids had been keeping an eye on. (2 -- 3 -- color) Baby chicks get their bearings, above, after hatching in Karla Hicks' third-grade class at Valley View Elementary. At left, a calendar records data on the progress of the hatching process. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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