What the sentence means
This sentence talks about a mother chicken and her babies. A hen is a mother chicken. She uses her beak to peck (pick up) tiny seeds to eat. The baby chickens are called chicks. When chicks make noise, they say "peep-peep."
Word help (say the words slowly)
- Hen — one mother chicken.
- Pecks — (peks) the hen taps and picks up seeds with her beak.
- Seeds — little bits of food the hen eats.
- Chicks — baby chickens.
- Peep-peep — the soft sound baby chicks make.
Try these fun activities
- Act it out: Pretend your finger is a beak. Crouch like a hen and "peck" cereal pieces or paper dots on the floor. Say "peck, peck." Let friends or toys be the chicks and they can say "peep-peep."
- Listen and repeat: Say the sentence slowly and let the child repeat: "The hen pecks seeds and the chicks go peep-peep." Clap once for each word to make a rhythm.
- Counting game: Put out 5 small seeds or cereal pieces. Each time the hen (child) pecks one, count: 1, 2, 3... The chicks can peep once for every seed.
- Draw and write: Draw a hen and three chicks. Under your picture, try to write the sentence or just the words "hen," "pecks," "seeds," "peep-peep."
- Make sounds: Practice the sounds: say the "p" in "pecks" and the long "ee" in "peep." Then say "peep-peep" like a chick.
Safe around real chickens
If you see real chickens, be gentle, don’t grab them, and wash your hands after touching them.
Quick questions to check understanding
- What does the hen use to pick up seeds? (Her beak.)
- What sound do the chicks make? (Peep-peep.)
Great job! Try acting out the sentence and drawing the hen and chicks — it makes the words fun to learn.