Hens are female chickens. These birds lay eggs in chicken coops. The eggs hatch into baby chickens, or chicks! Beginning readers hone their phonics skills while learning how hens and chicks grow and how farmers take care of them. As readers practice decoding words with the digraph ch, they gain science knowledge. Every Stairway Decodables nonfiction book combines multiple aspects of the Science of Reading to support small group instruction, independent reading, and reading practice at home.