A3B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Why 17,1990 Here students Sue Albright, left, and Lisa Mumma both from Manheim, egg' the peeps on in their pecking efforts. School is for the birds BY PAT KAUFFMAN MANHEIM - Mary Murphy has hatched up a plan to keep her sixth grade students busy and involved through the last trying weeks of the school year. Mary teaches a sixth grade class at H.C. Burgard Elementary School in Manheim. For the past four years, she has been teaching a unit on embryology during the last 9 weeks of school. The unit centers around the 4-H embryology project. And the incubator and the eggs are placed in the classroom by Nancy Meyers, Lancaster 4-H agent. But what Mary does from there is the special part Before teaching in Manheim, Mary had op portunity to observe an embryology unit used in the Harrisburg school system. And from her observations of that unit, and a lot of personal input, she has fashioned a teaching unit that encompasses the whole of classroom activity. Upon entering the room, the visitor notes the busy activity of a cluster of youngsters. The kids are huddled around an incubator containing 14 eggs, each numbered. Mary explains that each student is assigned an egg. Hatching tune was near, and the students were as fretful and anxious as new parents. Each egg was observed for the progress its occupant was making at the job of pecking. And one egg was causing considerable concern due to the blood that was visible. That egg was according to the students, in trouble. Mary reminded the class that death was a part of life, and the observer was ' made immediately aware of the avenues this amazing teacher uses to direct relevant information into her students minds. Mary starts her teaching unit 3 weeks prior to the arrival of the incubator. During these weeks, the students work with graphs and charts, learn the ter minology connected with the project, and talk about the life cycle of the chick. In addition, they are each required to compare the life cycle of the chick to that of one other animal. Mary says that the project uses all of the skills and subjects normally taught in the sixth grade. And it uses them in a way the kids find fascinating and enjoyable. Therefore, she says, they are more receptive to what they learn. Once the eggs are placed, the students take turns rotating the eggs and the eggs which are numbered, are assigned to students as ‘their’ egg. During the hatching process, the eggs are candled daily to determine their progress. And when an egg appears in trouble, the class opens it and discusses the problems that contributed to the loss of the chick. Jars with embryos . in all stages of development are on the classroom shelves, and the students compare the vascular system of a healthy embryo to that of the egg with problems. Toward the end of the three week incubation period, the students show all the symptoms of first time parenthood. Pacing in front of the incubator is not un common . And classwork % then revolves around writing poems about the chicks, and continuing graph and chart work on the developmental stages. As soon as the first chick hatches, the group will isolate it from all the others to hatch later. During the last three weeks of the project, the group will ob serve the inherent behavior characteristics of the isolated peep as opposed to the behavior of the group. And near the end of the three weeks, the youngsters will place the peep that has previously been held in solitary confinement with the gioup and the class will discuss the behavior characteristics of a group. This they will relate to the pi oblems they will face next year as they enter the junior high. This one aspect of the project alone is valuable to the youngsters because it gives them a chance to vocalize their fears and leam to deal with the problems of being in a new environment. At the end of the unit, rnosn m jp OVER KrtCIKKS im m 59 xgh Hina USD * VARIETIES Sr KPUtS nuns wossuks HI UTiLIL> AUTOMOBILE MOTOR CYCLE SNOWMOBILE DUM° LAWN AND GARDEN SMALL EQUIPMENT AND CUSTOM DESIGNS - DEALERS - w MGS TRAILERS RD 3 (Near Zmn s Diner) Denver Pa 215/267 7528 MELLOT BROS TRLR SALES RD 2(Rt 272 N) Willow Street Pa 717/464-2312 WHITE OAK LAWN ft LEISURE 329 W High St Manhcim Pa 717/665-4627 SMITH VILLAGE TRAVEL CENTER 31 N Main St Jacobus Pa 717/741 3838 ARCTIC CAT SALES ft SERVICE R D 1 Hifhpomt Rd Cocbranville Pa 215/593 6280 HARRISBURG - Com monwealth farmers made headway during the week en ding May 12, even with traces of rain throughout the week. Farm reporters rated nearly six days suitable for fieldwork statewide. However, southern Penn sylvania farmers only had five suitable days, according to the Crop Reporting Ser vice. Field activities included fixing fences; spreading lime, manure and fertilizer; discing; plowing; spraying; pruning fruit trees; cutting asparagus; setting cabbage plants; planting corn, Mary has promised theclass a football game. And the youngsters are waiting impatiently. The football game will be played by the peeps. Now while this may seem far-fetched to the average listener, Mary assures all that it can be done. She explains the play starts with a small white football made of a sliver of paper. And she gives a play by-play of football games held in previous years, so that it all begins to seem believable. But then again... The atmosphere in the classroom says as much for the program as anything. The students are pacing like expectant parents before the incubator. Those that are not are seated thumbing through large volumes of reference materials or working busily on charts, graphs or poems about the birds. And the sign on the wall of the classroom sums up the light-hearted approach this energetic teacher takes to the task at hand. It says simply, “school is for the birds.” BUCKS AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY FARMERS WE ARE OUR PROFITS TO SELL YOU SOYBEAN SEED AT FANTASTIC SAVINGS * WILLIAMS * WOODWORTH * CUTLER 71 * FALCON t Don't Delay Call Now For Precise Service and Best Prices. 215-598-3302 or 215-598-3324 DAVIS FEED MILLS, INC. A ATREX 9-0*1.95. Field work still trailing last year potatoes, alfalfa, oats, soy bean and sweet com. ' Statewide, reports of fuel supplies were mostly ade quate to surplus. LP gas was rated 95 percent adequate and five percent surplus. Diesel fuel and gasoline were both rated at 93 percent adequate and seven percent surplus. Statewide, soil moisture is rated mostly-adequate. Soils in all areas were reported approximately equal, at 84 percent and 86 percent ade quate moisture. Plowing is 77 percent com plete, behind last year’s 85 percent. Spring plowing stands at 80 percent done in the north, 79 percent in the central area and 68 percent done in the south. Oats are 84 percent sown, compared to the 90 percent sown in 1979. The percentage of oats sown varies from 80 percent in tha. south, to 86 percent in central counties and 90 percentin the south. Potato planting is still lag ging at 49 percent, behind last year’s 63 percent. The northern counties report about 25 percent complete, with central counties stan ding at 66 percent planted and the southern section of the Commonwealth repor ting a little better than 50 percent planted. Com planting, now at 30 percent, compared to 38 per cent complete last year at this time and an histone average of 29 percent. Pro gress of com planting is 24 percent in the north, 30 per cent in the central counties and 39 percent planted in the southern area- of Penn? sylvania. Soybean planting statewide stands at 10 per cent, compared to seven per Rushlcmd, PA SPECIAL NOW THRU MAY 24th cent in 1979. However, the major portion has occurred in the northern counties where 21 percent of the crop is planted. Central and southern counties report less than five percent complete in soybean planting. The winter grains continue mostly in the pre-boot stage. However, barley is 27 per . cent booted, fiie same as last year and six percent beaded which compares to 12 per cent in 1979. .Wheat is 13 per cent booted compared to last year's 30 percent. Alfalfa hay stands are reported in 2/3 good and 1/3 fate condition, with insect and spraying activity in; creasing. First cutting of alfalfa is begining. Clo-tim stands are 2/3 good and 1/3 fate condition. The amount of feed being obtained from., pasture is mostly average. Peaches are reported at 73 percent in or past full bloom which compares to 83 per cent last year. Cherries are reported at 82 percent in or past full bloom, the same as last year. Apples are 55 per cent in or past full bloom, slightly behind the 62 per cent in 1979. Reports of scat tered frost last week may have hurt some spots, however, there were no serious reports at this printing. Good progress was reported for vegetable planting of sweet com, cabbage and green peas. Wear protective gear * while operating your tracer tor; safety shoes and hump., cap-, respirator when’' spraying or if conditions are dusty, ear protectors if, tractor is (fibless. ' /
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers