October 15, 2012

 The questions that poultrymen face as they raise chickens from incubation to adult life are not easy to answer. Both farmers and merchants can become concerned when health problems such as coccidiosis arise any time after the egg stage to later life. Experts recommend that young chicks should have plenty of sunshine and nutritious food for healthy growth. Banties and geese should not share the same barnyard or even sleep in the same roost. They may be afraid of the dark.

So basically, before you start, you need to be aware that chickens need some care and attention every day, just like when you have a dog or a cat. Before buying some hens for the first time you should give some serious consideration to where they are going to live, how you will feed and water them should you go away on holiday and how you are going to keep them secure from predators, mainly the fox if you live in the UK. Believe it or not, there are surprisingly high numbers of urban foxes in our towns these days.

 Identify the major concept that you want students to learn from reading.  Determine ways these concepts might support or challenge the students’ beliefs.  Create 4 to 6 statements that support or challenge the students’ beliefs and experiences about the topic under study.

 Students react to each statement.  Discuss reactions.  Read selection (textbook chapter, article, novel chapter, technical brief, etc.)  Confirm, revise, or ask for more information about statements.

 With your partner, decide who will say something first.  Read selection until you see “SS” then say something:  Make a prediction  Ask a question  Clarify something you had misunderstood  Make a comment  Make a connection  If you can’t do one of those 5 things, reread.

 It says that…  I know that…  So…  Maybe…  So far it tells…  I predict that…  I was wondering why…  I don’t understand…  Why…  That is surprising because…  I disagree because…

 Confirm, revise, or ask for more information about statements.  Rewrite any statement that was not true in a way that makes it true.  Students discuss what they learned from the reading.  Students write what they learned.