2020/21 Hatching Resources

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach-Linn County (ISUEO) and Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach partner each year to offer a unique, up-close agriculture experience to kindergarten and first grade classrooms during the months of April and May. Classrooms are provided a kit that includes materials to incubate seven fertile chicken eggs.

More than 400 students are participating in our 2020/21 twenty-one day hatching program! The program includes support for teachers, virtual resources, and curriculum with cross-curricular activities, lessons, books, games, and resources.

The hatching program meets both Iowa Common Core Standards and National Agriculture Literacy Outcomes. Through our program, students gain an understanding of the poultry industry and life cycle. Not only does this curriculum allow students to better understand living things and agriculture, it also allows the class to explore food and nutrition topics that complement math, science, and literacy lessons.

Quotes from teachers:

2018 quote: Amy Brown, a participating teacher, saw enthusiasm spread throughout the school, "I hope we can have this experience for years to come! My class was the one that did the hatching, but we opened our door to the entire school and had most of the classes walk through at some point. It was truly amazing!"

2019 quote: "It was a wonderful program all around, but I especially loved the curricular materials that came with the kit. It was awesome to tie reading and math to science," said Linn County participating teacher.

Are you convinced yet that you need to hatch chicks in your classroom? Visit our website to build your own kit! Hatching Unit | mysite (linncoag.com)

Download the following:

-Kit list

-Set up

-Hatching calendar

-Pre-recorded FarmChat

-Workbook

-Hatching BINGO

-Candling tips and tricks

Wrap up your 21 day hatching program with a fun virtual field trip!

Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach is partnering with Riverbend Ag in the Classroom to host a live FarmChat® via Facebook. This is an excellent time to checkout FarmChat®, experience a taste of agriculture and have a live Q&A session with a farmer. The program is designed for K-5 students, but anyone can join to learn about Iowa agriculture! FarmChat® is a perfect complement to elementary life science standards and STEM learning.

We will be going live from the River Bend Ag In The Classroom | Facebook page.