Chicken Life Cycle Craft {FREE Interactive Wheel}
We don’t think there’s a better time of year to explore animal life cycles than springtime! Whether you’re planning to visit a farm with your kiddos, or actually hatch your own chicks, this chicken life cycle craft perfectly supplements your science and spring themed lessons. Students get a chance to learn about the life cycle of a chicken by creating their very own interactive learning tool. This life cycle “wheel” allows them to show their understanding of how a chick grows by cutting and pasting a chicken’s life cycle in the correct order. It’s so cute to see just how excited students are with the finished project!
Background Knowledge
Before starting this activity, we like to give students some basic information regarding a chicken’s life cycle. A hen lays an average of 300 eggs per year. When a hen is “broody,” it means she wants to hatch her eggs. The hen will sit on her eggs to keep them warm so that they will hatch into chicks. Then, a fertilized egg starts developing into a chicken when its temperature reaches 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Usually, a chicken takes 21 days to hatch. There are a couple books we like that explore this concept in an easy to understand and kid friendly way. Where Do Chicks Come From? by Amy E Sklansky and Egg to Chicken by Rachel Tonkin are great reads that compliment this activity perfectly! We have also included a poster for the classroom that you can display for your little ones to easily reference.
Making the Chicken Life Cycle Wheel Craft
Here is what you will need to complete the craft:
- crayons/markers
- glue
- scissors
- metal brads
- wheel craft templates (included in the download below)
To assemble the wheel, print and copy the templates provided for each student. Next, have students color the wheel cover. Then, they will cut out the cover wheel and “window”. After that, they will color and cut out each life cycle stage to paste above the correct life cycle stages box. Now they can cut out the life cycle stages wheel and place the cover over the stages. Finally, attach the craft together by using a metal brad at the center of the wheel. These wheels can be used for a classroom display or even glued in their science notebooks for future reference!
Extending the Activity
After they have completed their wheels, we like to extend the learning with a writing activity. In particular, we have students write a paragraph to describe a chicken’s life cycle in their own words. For younger students, you can write a short paragraph as a class. Be sure to focus on the correct order and sequencing the steps of the life cycle using transition words. These are words such as: first, next, then, and finally. Teaching students to use transition words helps them improve their writing. This allows paragraphs to flow more smoothly by providing organization and connections between sentences.
Ready to try this activity out with your students? Click on the button below for your instant download!
If you want more interactive fun, check out our life cycle wheels for the entire year! Filled with animal and plant life cycles that will keep your students engaged season after season.
