Many universities with agriculture programs have extension programs that offer eggs to schools for teaching purposes. Along with the eggs, they provide an incubator and instructions on how to incubate and hatch the eggs. When the eggs have hatched, they take the chicks back. By keeping the incubating eggs in the classroom, students can see what steps go into incubating eggs. They can also help assist with those steps.
Candling is a process that allows a person to see inside an egg. To candle an egg, all you need is a bright light (like a flashlight) and a very dark room. By shining the light through the egg, students can see how the embryo inside the egg is growing. They can see how it starts out as a tiny cluster of cells that becomes larger and more defined until ready to hatch.
In addition to having eggs in the room, teachers can use the opportunity to read books about eggs to the students. Teachers should also keep books about eggs available for the students to take home or read to themselves at school. In doing this, the teacher is providing a chance for the students to learn more about what they are observing.
One way to teach students the vocabulary of embryology is to have students draw pictures of what they see at different stages when they candle the eggs. After the students have drawn what they observed, have them label the pictures and name the parts. This way they are connecting the words to images. Another way to do this is to have children make their own books about the life cycle of an egg.