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Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom

Classroom Resources



Agriculture-Related Books

Farm Animals in Nonfiction — Poultry

All About Turkeys
Arnosky, Jim
Scholastic, 2008
Grades 2-4
Information-packed book details the life and habits of the wild turkey, including what it eats, how it raises its young and where it is found. Inserts of text and pictures provide detail on each topic.
I'm a Turkey!
Arnosky, Jim
Scholastic, 2009
Grades PreK-3
Humorous song, filled with factual information about turkeys.
Have a Nice DNA (Enjoy Your Cells, 3)
Balkwill, Frances R., and Mic Rolph
Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory, 2002
Grades 4-6
Simple but scientifically accurate commentary and exuberantly colorful graphics take young readers on an entertaining exploration of DNA.
Egg, a Photographic Story of Hatching
Burton, Robert
Econoclad, 2001
Grades K-3
More than five hundred full-color, life-size, sequential photographs, with captions and text, explain the story of bird, reptile, insect, fish, and amphibian development, from the initial signs of growth through the struggle to hatch.
Chicks and Chickens
Gibbons, Gail
Holiday House, 2000
Grades K-3
Diagrams, definitions of such words as flock, breed, rooster, and gizzard, and close-up views help viewers and readers understand more about raising chickens. Gibbons informs readers that a chicken can lay unfertilized eggs as well as fertilized, shows the development of chicks within the shell, and indicates how some chicks are raised under artificial conditions. A double-page spread shows different breeds, cutaways show the function of a gizzard, and the development of an egg within a hen. While the book is more complex than many preschoolers and kindergartners are used to, it suits perfectly those farm units where children's questions can be easily answered.
Face to Face With the Chicken
Harvard, Christian
Charlesbridge, 2003
Grades 3-5
Information about such things as pecking order, predators, chick hatching and more.
4-H Guide to Raising Chickens
Kindschi, Tara
Voyageur, 2010
Grade 5 and up
Eight chapters divide the text into broad topics such as getting started, coosing a breed, housing equipment, etc. Line drawings and charts provide additional information, and at least one photo appears on almost every page.
See How They Grow: Duck
Ling, Mary
DK, 2001
The duck narrates her story from birth to one and a half or two years of age, when they give birth. Clear, candid full-color photos of the animals are very expressive. All are placed on a white background, creating a spacious, uncluttered effect. Each spread has a brief chapter heading and is decorated with miniature drawings at the top and bottom. The text, which totals five to seven sentences per chapter, is strategically placed beside the appropriate pictures. The amount of information is limited, but in terms of eye appeal and ease of understanding for those youngsters who are just beginning to experience the thrill of reading independently, these titles are an overwhelming success.
ChickensĀ (Down on the Farm)
Ray, Hannah
Crabtree, 2008
Grades PreK-2
DucksĀ (Down on the Farm)
Ray, Hannah
Crabtree, 2008
Grades PreK-2
First the Egg
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro
Roaring Brook, 2007
Grades PreK-2
The book opens with an egg cutout, which, with a page turn, becomes a plump yellow chick; tadpole morphs into frog; seed grows into flower. A daub of pigment similarly evolves into a painted landscape incorporating chicken, frog and flower. Seeger's final pages bring us full circle: the chicken returns to its nest and lays "the egg!"
Where Do Chicks Come From?
Sklansky, Amy E., and Pam Paparone
Collins, 2005
Grades PreK-3
Excellent illustrations of the egg-laying anatomy of the hen, structure of the egg and embroy to chick development process and hatching process. Discusses which eggs are fertile and why and explains that the eggs children eat for breakfast are not fertile.