Egg Day

Objective:
The students will classify different pieces of literature which contain eggs as part of the subject matter.

Materials

• A poem containing an egg (such as Humpty Dumpty),

• A folktale (such as "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale From the American South" by Robert D. San Souci or a version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" which contains a golden egg)

• A fiction book (such as "Horton Hatches an Egg" by Dr. Seuss or "Eggbert the Slightly Cracked Egg" by Tom Ross)

• A nonfiction book about eggs (such as "Chicken Aren't the Only Ones" by Ruth Heller or "Eggs: What's For Lunch?" by Claire Llewellyn),

• Egg Literature Worksheet

Procedure

1. Read each of the selections from the above list.

2. Discuss the different literary terms: poem, folktale, fiction, nonfiction.

3. Pass out the Egg Literature Worksheet and have the students work individually, or as a class (depending on the age), to place each piece read in the most appropriate place.  (Some of the pieces may fit into two categories, but they should work to pick the most appropriate place.)

4. Older students will be able to complete the worksheet individually.  For younger students have a whole class discussion on which was their favorite piece of egg literature and why.  This could also lead into a math lesson on graphing their favorite pieces.

Other Lesson Ideas

• Have the students write stories about lost or magical eggs on pieces of paper cut out in the shape of an egg.

• Brainstorm words that rhyme with egg.

• Have the students write stories about "mystery eggs" and what hatches out of them.

• Read "The Talking Eggs: A Folktale From the American South" by Rober D. San Souci and "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale" by John Steptoe and have the students compare and contrast the two stories.