Activities > Chicken Pen

Chicken Pen

Level: BeginnerDuration: NA
Grade Level:  Author: LEGO Education
Topics: structures, animals
Materials: LEGO DUPLO Farm Set, straws, paper, possibly stocking material or fly netting for the pen, small eggs for the nests, and string

Objective

To practice categorization and learn about animals, food, and farming.

Description

Chickens can fly as high as a farmer’s head. That’s why they sometimes get out of their pen and into the open, where the fox can catch them. Yikes!

Procedures

Design and make a chicken pen that will keep the chickens safe from the fox in the wood. It should:

  • be high enough for the chickens to fly a little.
  • have some sort of play area for the chickens, so they don’t get bored.
  • include a house where the chickens can lay eggs and rest.

Discussion

  • Is the pen big enough for all the chickens? Use all your DUPLO chickens to test and see.
  • Can they fly out? Measure the height of the walls. Are they higher than the farmer?
  • Is there plenty of room to run about, light to see by, and air to breathe?
  • Is there space for food and water?
  • Can the fox get in? Find something to use as a fox (try making one out of play dough) and pretend you want to get inside. You may need to fix your pen.

Continuation

  • Make up a funny poem or song about one of the chickens in the pen. He’s called Ronnie the Rooster and he had an accident just the other day!
  • Find out about “battery farming” of chickens. What is it? What do you think of “battery farming?” Can you find something positive or negative to say about it?

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