Maggie’s
Activity Pack
Name __________________________
Date ___________________________
That’s ‘EGG’sactly Right!
In the spring you see many eggs. They are different colors.
Some are small. Some are big. That’s right, birds, turtles, snakes,
even alligators lay eggs. Sizes vary from the huge ostrich egg to
the tiny hummingbird egg.
Do these math problems. You will learn more about many
kinds of eggs.
1.
The ostrich lays a huge egg. Its length is 150 millimeters and
the width is 135 millimeters.
Bee hummingbird eggs are very tiny. They are about 13 millimeters long
and 8 millimeters wide.
There is a big difference between the sizes of these two eggs. Complete
the chart.
Difference in length
Difference in width
What is the difference
between ostrich eggs
and bee hummingbird
eggs?
2.
Did you know that kiwi are birds of New Zealand? They like the dark so
may be seen at night. But, they are endangered. That’s because mammals were
brought to New Zealand. Animals like rats eat kiwi eggs. Each of these greenishwhite eggs needs to be saved.
A kiwi lays the biggest egg compared to its size and weight. A mother kiwi
might weigh 4 kilograms. She might be as tall as 50 centimeters. Her egg is
about 12 centimeters long. It weighs about one gram.
A. How much taller is the mother kiwi than her egg? _____________________
B. About how many kiwi eggs would equal the weight of mother kiwi? ________
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2006. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
3.
Turtles also lay eggs. A large female sea turtle may lay as many as 150 eggs.
These leathery eggs are about 38 millimeters long.
Sometimes the eggs sit in cool sand. This means more boy sea turtles will
hatch. If the sand is warmer, more girl sea turtles will hatch!
You don’t have to go to the beach to find turtle eggs. Many pond turtles lay
their eggs in the spring, too. Painted turtles lay eggs that are about 25 millimeters
long.
How much longer is a sea turtle egg than a painted turtle egg? ______________
4.
The Canada Goose honks as it flies back to its nesting grounds. The mother
always returns to the same place where she hatched. Then the parents make a
ground nest of grass and other plants. Mother Canada Goose lays 5 to 7 white
eggs that are about 9 centimeters long. Her mate stands guard to protect the eggs.
How much longer is a kiwi egg than a Canada Goose egg?
______________________
5.
Some birds lay only one egg. The mother Emperor penguin lays just one very
large egg. She then leaves the male in charge. She goes off to look for food. He
takes good care of this 470 gram egg in the cold Antarctic air!
In a much warmer place, the flamingo also lays just one egg. This egg may
weigh about 140 grams.
How much more does an Emperor penguin egg weigh than a flamingo egg?
______________________________
6.
Not all eggs are white. Some eggs may be speckled so predators can’t see
them. Other birds lay beautiful blue eggs. The bluebird and robin are two of these
birds. Many people wonder why these birds lay blue eggs. Some people think it is
because certain birds may lay eggs in other bird’s nests. The mother robin can tell
her beautiful blue eggs from the eggs of other birds.
Take a look at these notes about the sizes of robin and bluebird eggs.
Bluebird eggs - 21 mm long by
16 mm wide
A. How much longer is a bluebird’s egg
than a robin’s egg?
__________________mm
Robin eggs – 20 mm long by
15 mm wide
B. How much wider is a bluebird’s egg than
a robin’s egg? __________________ mm
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2006. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.
Dear Colleague,
What an ‘eggs’traordinary time of year to highlight the egg! So many wonderful activities come to
mind. Why not have your students make a large chart showing the size comparisons of the eggs that were
mentioned in this article. You can find out about other eggs, too. I’m sure some children would LOVE to
discover that the American alligator lays about 35 eggs that are each approximately 3 inches long. What if
you put these 35 eggs end to end in a line? Use that important skill of estimating and have students
approximate what that line might be equal to in your classroom – a wall, the bulletin board? Having
students “see” measurement in action is an important skill. We know many state tests require the making
or interpretation of charts and graphs. You can create a class chart showing the egg sizes in problems 1 –
6. Order the sizes from smallest to largest. Have children write their own math problems based on this
chart.
You may also want to integrate this ‘eggs’ tra special activity with art – and a bit of science! Have
your class research the type of nest specific animals build along with the appearance of their eggs. Use
clay, Spanish moss, bits of sticks, etc. to make the nests. Children may shape the egg from correctly
colored clay or even papier mache. Of course, in our zeal to integrate the curriculum, we see math
(measurement and correspondence) and writing as perfect connectors. Students can either write a
nonfiction paragraph about their nest and egg or they can write a sequence paragraph telling how this was
constructed. Perhaps you even want a few fiction stories…how about ‘A Day in the Life of an Osprey’?
Wow – an osprey nest would prove to be a challenge for a group of students.
You may also want to have children read about Rachael Carson and other scientists whose
detective techniques helped us to find out the harmful effects of DDT on egg shells. I remember tromping
around tern colonies many years with my husband as he studied the effects of environmental pollutants on
egg shells. It’s a fascinating study and one that lends itself well to many curricular areas.
Remember to check out cultural connections of eggs. Our Russian friends paint beautiful eggs.
You’ll find an activity about this in our archive. So much to do, so little time…Happy Egg hunting for the
perfect egg activity for your class!
Happy teaching,
Kathy
Answer Key:
1.
Comparison of Ostrich Eggs and
Bee Hummingbird Eggs
Difference in
length
137 millimeters
Difference in width
127 millimeters
2. A. 38 centimeters
B. 4 eggs
3. 13 millimeters (Problems such as this one will give you an indication of children can ignore data not
needed to calculate the answer.)
4. 3 centimeters long (This type of problem allows you to assess if your students are able to look for and
locate needed information.)
5. 330 grams
6. A. 1 mm
B. 1 mm
Goals:
Students will read the description of several species’ eggs. They will use this information in math problems
to compare the size of eggs such as penguin and flamingo eggs. Egg differences such as color are also
presented. Students at the intermediate level will solve addition and subtraction problems that include
simple decimals. A basic understanding of how metric units (millimeters and centimeters) relate to each
other is assumed. Primary level students use whole numbers. Charts are included and all measurement
units are given in the metric system.
© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2006. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use.