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Poultry Activities for

Key Stage 1

and Key Stage 2 (ages 5-7 and 7-11)

In association with

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Contents

Introduction Page 3 Chicken PSHE PSHE KS1 & 2 Developing a healthy, safe lifestyle Page 5 Five Chicken Farmers - a song for KS1 looking at the 5 freedoms Pages 6-7 Chicken Maths Maths KS1 Place Value Page 9 Maths KS1 measurement and Statistics Page 10 Maths KS2 Numbers including fractions Page 11 Maths KS2 Measurement Page 12 Maths KS2 Statistics Page 13 Chicken Art Art KS1 Exploring ideas and recording experiences Page 15 Art KS1 Knowledge and Understanding Page 16 Art KS2 Record observations Page 17 Art KS2 Improve mastery of design techniques Page 18 Videos Page 19 Words to describe a chicken farmer Page 20 More ideas Page 21

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Introduction

The term “poultry” is probably not familiar to many children. But they will understand the word “chicken” and that’s what this booklet is about. LEAF Education was asked by the poultry industry to devise classroom materials which would help pupils to understand more about the chicken that they often eat - where it comes from and how it is produced. In this e-booklet LEAF Education has collated a number of resources and weblinks to help teachers and educators to devise interesting poultry-related activities If you have further activities to suggest, please email them to education@leafuk.org and we’ll consider including them in an updated version!

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Chicken PSHE

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Curriculum area: PSHE Key Stages 1 & 2

Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle

Activities:

Keeping healthy and happy. Brainstorm what children need to keep them healthy and happy.

What do animals—including chickens—need to keep healthy and happy? Compare with own needs. (See Five Chicken Farmers song)

Make a list of people who help us to have enough food - farmers, vets, parents and carers. Make a thank-you card for one of them or write a letter asking what their job involves.

Focus: farmers. What do farmers do? How many types of farmer can we identify? Livestock – what does that mean and which types of animals? Arable – what does that mean and what type of crops? How do they help us? (Not just food supply but community matters e.g. clearing snow)

Develop questions to ask a farmer either in person or via Skype/FaceTime

Interview the farmer using questions already prepared

Express views about farmers and how they produce our food (with particular reference to chicken farmers) by making a presentation to another class/group of children

Undertake a farm visit or join a farmer on a virtual farm tour

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Five Chicken Farmers a song for KS1 looking at the five freedoms

This song can be used as a counting activity whilst introducing the topic of animal welfare via the Five Freedoms. The Five Freedoms:

Freedom from hunger and thirst (food and water) Freedom from discomfort (shelter) Freedom from pain and injury (medical care) Freedom to express normal behaviour (exercise) Freedom from fear and distress (love and understanding)

The song is adapted from Five little firemen and the tune can be listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qIAhEtk13M Five chicken farmers standing in a row 1,2,3,4,5 they go Fill up the water Keep the shed neat Make sure the chicks have enough to eat Four chicken farmers standing in a row 1,2,3,4,sh they go Make sure it’s shady Not too hot Chicks will like a comfy spot Three chicken farmers standing in a row 1,2,3 sh, sh they go Check all the chicks If they’re ill you’ll tell Chicks don’t like to feel unwell Two chicken farmers standing in a row 1,2 sh, sh, sh they go Give chicks the space They need to play Chicks have lots of energy to use each day

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One chicken farmer standing in a row 1, sh, sh, sh, sh she goes Keep out the foxes Check the alarm Chicks need to be kept from harm No chicken farmers Standing in a row Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh, they go All the chicks are happy Sleeping in the straw Let’s tiptoe out and close the door

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Chicken Maths

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Curriculum area: Maths Key Stage 1

Place Value

Activities:

How many ways to make 10 e.g. 7 sheds with chickens 3 empty, 2 sheds with chickens 8 empty.

Using a board with fields/sheds drawn on it children shake dice to decide how many animals go into each field. Extend by giving each field a number. Match groups of animals to the field e.g. 'this field/shed needs five animals - find the group of five animals'.

Matching: groups of animals to number on card, hens to chicks.

Introduce grouping: 5 chickens x 2 legs = 10 legs; 3 chickens x 2 legs = 6 legs ; count eyes, wings etc.

Number books: 1 to 10 children make 1 farmer, 2 lorries, 3 sheds etc.

Sorting chickens and other animals: two legs/four legs, fur/feathers, can milk/can't milk, lay eggs/don’t lay eggs.

Design board game e.g. when you land on even number (or coloured number) you pick up a card.

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Curriculum area: Maths Key Stage 1

Measurement and Statistics

Activities:

How many ways can you arrange three eggs in an egg box?

Order the jobs the farmer must do in the day. Can you relate theses to the clock faces?

Use a miniature model farm and direct your partner from point A to point B using positional and directional language.

Money: use of farm shops, or have mini-shop in box on group table. Buy one item count out money to pay; buy one item and give change; buy two items, add together, give change etc. Alter prices to make activity easier or harder

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Curriculum area: Maths Key Stage 2

Numbers including fractions

Activities:

Use the legs/eyes of chickens to: count in steps of two. Become familiar with multiples of two e.g. how many legs have 8 chickens?

Compare numbers of chickens on different farms or in different sheds: Say which farm has more or fewer chickens; Estimate and calculate the differences; Round numbers of chickens up or down to the nearest 10 or 100; Convert numbers of chickens into percentages of the farm totals.

Divide a set of chickens into the available sheds as equally as possible e.g. you have 150 chickens and 3 sheds - how many chickens in each shed?

Find halves and quarters of numbers of chickens.

Calculate how much the farmer will get for a particular quantity of chickens at a given unit price.

Collect and compare prices of chickens/eggs in different shops. Record differences on a graph. Work out percentage differences.

Teachers can use accurate statistics from the poultry industry or, if more

appropriate to the age range, can simply use the chickens as a unit of

measurement when making calculations and accept that these will not be

realistic figures.

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Curriculum area: Maths Key Stage 2 Measurement

Activities:

Read a timetable of the farmer's day and answer questions.

Design a timetable for a farmer's day using am and pm or a 24-hour clock. Use a calendar to design the farmer's year.

Estimate the measurements of sheds.

Convert measurements of sheds into kilometres/metres/centimetres.

Using maps of the farm, follow a poultry farmer's day and design the shortest route around the farm for the farmer.

Find weight of chickens at different stages of their growth in kilograms/grams.

Compare weights of chickens - kilograms vs. pounds. Work out some equivalent weights. .

Round measurements to the nearest kilogram or pound.

Which sort of egg has the largest volume? What is the difference in volume/circumference between different sizes of egg?

Find perimeters of fields/sheds on a map.

Find area of fields/sheds using areas of rectangles and areas of right-angle triangles.

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Curriculum area: Maths Key Stage 2

Statistics

Activities:

Use a table showing different numbers of chickens on different farms: Read information from table; re-create data as different types of chart (pie, bar, tally, pictogram); write questions about the data; answer questions about the data.

Input data onto a database. Give children numerical information about the chickens and ask them to design a table to present the information.

Find the mean, median, mode and range of the numbers of chickens.

Use examples from poultry farming to explore probability e.g. the chickens will be fed today (very likely); the chickens will grow a metre tall (very unlikely); it will rain this year (certain!).

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Chicken Art

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Curriculum area: Art Key Stage 1

Exploring ideas and Recording Experiences

Activities:

Use observational windows to allow children to look at close-up sections in detail.

Record patterns of feathers, shapes of beaks, claws etc. Use different tools - charcoal, pencils, repeat recording of patterns.

Collect different textures from around the farm.

Make experimental collage - trying out the different effects of prints and rubbing.

Create an outdoor sculpture using natural materials and hang from a tree.

Make collage of chicken (large, using textured papers). Emphasise feather pattern, shape, claws, texture.

Use willow to create a sculpture inspired by the farm.

This extended project can be used for other animals or birds on the farm. Or use different media and techniques e.g. experimenting with sheep - recording, sketching, textiles, collage. Let the project extend over several sessions.

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Curriculum area: Art Key Stage 1

Knowledge and Understanding

Activities:

Look at different artists' representations of chickens (greetings cards, postcards, pictures in books, etc).

Look at art from the past representing rural and farming life e.g. Constable, Van Gogh.

Visit a local art gallery or invite a local environmental artist to visit the school

Look at environmental artists like Andy Goldsworthy and Kim Creswell

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Curriculum area: Art Key Stage 2

Record observations and use them to review and re-visit ideas

Activities on a farm visit:

Have an Art Ideas book for each child. This can be taken on a farm visit. Provide a card square with a window cut out of it to encourage focussing on a small area.

Record patterns of bricks, corrugated metal, fences, chickens’ feathers, footprints, etc.

Sketch animals, buildings, horizons etc.

Use different grades of pencils and charcoals to recreate patterns seen on the farm. Review the different effects.

Make observational drawings using charcoals, pencils, pastels and chalks.

Make a layered picture of the farm starting with the basic layout of buildings and fields in paint. Use pastels and felt-tips to add details to buildings, fences and hedgerows. Add collage animals and crops

Look at different artists' work that captured aspects of farming. Use card windows to focus on and sketch the different ways they created their effects. Experiment with those techniques to create own work.

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Curriculum area: Art Key Stage 2

Improve mastery of art and design techniques

Activities on a farm visit:

Have an Art Ideas book for each child to take to the farm. Provide a card square with a window cut out of it to encourage focussing on a small area.

Collect leaves, stones, twigs, straw etc and experiment with collage. Sketch markings on chickens. Use those shapes to create abstract forms.

Use textures from farm e.g. chicken’s feathers, to experiment with creating textures in clay, printing, rubbings, weaving.

Make 3D models of chickens using clay, wire mesh and mod-rock or papier-mâché. Use cut vegetables and fruit to experiment with printing and fields in paint. Use pastels and felt-tips to add details to buildings, fences and hedgerows. Add collage animals.

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Videos

There are some excellent short videos available explaining chicken farming

Howle Manor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3-ejYvdarQ

https://www.whyfarmingmatters.co.uk/using-the-videos Frogmary Green Farm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXWBcsYoXGw Applied Farming Ltd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC8GStmBdKc

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Words to describe a chicken farmer

Some words to use:

kind tidy patient caring

What other words can you think of?

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More ideas! There are many more ideas on the internet for poultry activities and information for a wide variety of ages. Label a chicken https://www.tes.com/resources/search/?&years=GB%7C0%7C5-

7%7C&years=GB%7C0%7C7-11%7C&displayCountry=GB&q=chicken%20farming

Thumb print chicks (art activity) http://www.thehappychickcompany.co.uk/downloads/pdfs/activities-2012/thumb-print-chicks.pdf Beaky bird card - another craft activity http://www.thehappychickcompany.co.uk/downloads/pdfs/activities-2012/beaky-bird.pdf Keeping chickens in school https://www.sustainablelearning.com/resource/keeping-chickens-school https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/~/media/files/supporting%20docs/guide-to-keeping-chickens-sample.pdf NFU’s Farminvention materials contains some excellent ideas for practical activities https://www.farmvention.com/Challenges/Two You can also find a wide variety of resources on Countryside Classroom http://www.countrysideclassroom.org.uk/poultry-education-project