Interview Conducted on November 5th, 2008

Interviewer: Tiffany Langbein

Interviewee: Kyleigh, a 7 year old girl

 

I began the interview by asking Kyleigh if she knew what lays eggs. Her response included ducks, dinosaurs and snakes. After moving onto the next question, she added turtles. From there, I asked her what happens in the egg. She said that the mommy (turtle) has the egg and inside is a little turtle. She stated that it is very tiny. I asked her if there was anything else in the egg and she said juice. The little turtle is swimming in juice. I said ok, and I then asked her, “What does the turtle eat?” She stated that the turtle drinks some of the juice when it is really hungry but that the turtle gets bigger because the mommy turtle stays beside it all the time, rubbing it so that it can grow. I then asked her “How does the turtle know when to come out?”. She told me that “it comes out when the mommy is ready.” I then asked her how long that was and she dais in about a year. She said that the baby pushes on the egg and it cracks open and the baby turtle comes out.

 

Analysis of Interview

 

After reviewing the answers that were given from the 7 year old, I realized that she understood some of the concepts but not clearly. I think as a teacher, we need to introduce the parts inside of an egg, discuss that the eggs we eat are not fertilized and that there was never a chicken in it, and that in a fertilized egg, the yolk and albumen provides food, water and oxygen by spreading blood vessels. It is also important for teachers to let them know how long it takes for an egg to hatch; for a chicken, it takes 21 days from the time the egg is laid to the hatching. Also, teachers can discuss why the egg cracks before it hatches (this is when the chick needs to breath, so it cracks the egg for a breathing hole roughly 2 days before it hatches). Overall, the Eggs Eggs Everywhere GEMS Guide lacks the curriculum to teach these concepts. I think this is the most important aspect of this unit and should be included within the lessons. I think a great way to end this unit would be to show a video of an egg hatching or have eggs in your class and have the students watch them hatch.

 

 

Source:

 http://www.saburchill.com/chapters/chap0035.html