Lesson Plans
Elementary School Students (K-5)
Reptile Adaptations
Source: DiscoverySchool.com
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/reptileadaptations/
Objectives: Students will understand the following:
1. Adaptation describes the changing traits that enable reptiles to live in their environments.
2. Adaptations can be found in physical and behavioral traits of reptiles. Snakes and lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and the tuatara constitute the living orders of reptiles.
Reviled and Revered
Source: SmithsonianEducation.org
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/herps/start.html
Objectives: Throughout history, people have viewed reptiles and amphibians with a combination of fear, fascination, admiration, revulsion, and respect. In these lessons we'll look at this "love/hate relationship" – a long, colorful relationship that has elevated some reptiles and amphibians to the status of gods and doomed others to near extinction. But first we'll review some general information about the animals themselves.”
Snakes!
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife – Texas Junior Naturalist
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/junior_naturalists/snakefaq.phtml
Objectives: The information presented is an attempt to answer some of the most commonly-asked questions about these fascinating, yet all too often persecuted, maligned, and misunderstood creatures
Teaching Treasures
Source: TeachingTreasures.com
Snakes project and online activity with links; site based in Australia. Includes information with an online true/false snake game, snake links, and a snaking project.
http://teachingtreasures.com.au/Animania/Snakes.htm
Middle School Students (6-8)
Mathline
Source: PBS.org
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/mathline/lessonplans/pdf/atmp/SnakePatterns.pdf
Objectives: Students will use given rules to generate several stages of a
pattern and will be able to predict the outcome for any stage.
Snakes!
Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife – Texas Junior Naturalist
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/junior_naturalists/snakefaq.phtml
Objectives: The information presented is an attempt to answer some of the most commonly-asked questions about these fascinating, yet all too often persecuted, maligned, and misunderstood creatures.
Snakes
Source: DiscoverySchool.com
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/snakes/
Objectives: Students will understand the following:
1. Snakes thrive in almost every region of the world
2. Different types of snakes have different physical characteristics that help them survive and succeed in their particular habitats.
High School Students (9 – 12)
Herpetology: Texas Natural History Collections
Source: Texas Memorial Museum with the University of Texas at Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/tnhc/herps/
Information about collections, preserved specimens, skeletons, frozen
tissues, tape recordings, geographic coverage, taxonomic coverage,
online database, loans, and visits.
Bibliography on the Biology of Amphibians and reptiles
Source: Smithsonian Institution (si.org)
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmnh/reptshrt.htm
The resource list represents the better and more informative of the books (general, but not necessarily non-technical) which are available and can be obtained from local public or university libraries and bookstores. The publications listed are not available from the Smithsonian library, education department, or research departments.
About the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Division of Amphibians and Reptiles (nmnh.si.edu)
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/reptiles/reptiles-hp.htm#about
The Division of Amphibians and Reptiles is devoted to herpetology, the scientific study of amphibians and reptiles, and to building and maintaining preserved collections of those animals, which are used in research by the staff of the Division as well as herpetologists throughout the world.”
Additional Resources and Lesson Plans
Source: American International Rattlesnake Museum (rattlesnakes.com)
Title: …an animal conservation museum… (Albuquerque, NM)
http://www.rattlesnakes.com/
This site offers internal links to information about snakes, exhibit items,
articles, reviews, and pictures of exhibit animals.
Source: Desert Foothills Scenic Drive
Title: Diamond back Rattlesnake
http://www.scenicdrive.org/cgrattler.htm
This site is located in Scottsdale, AZ, and offers diamondback snake
information.
Source: Encarta.com
Title: rattlesnake
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761562074
This site gives an introduction to rattlesnakes. Click on "Multimedia" to hear the sound of rattling.
Source: Enchanted Learning (enchantedlearning.com)
Title: Rattlesnakes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/reptiles/snakes/Rattlercoloring.shtml
This site offers a printable page explaining the parts of a rattlesnake.
Source: eMints.org
Title: Animals: Rattlesnakes
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000967.shtml
This site contains useful links to other snake resources.
Source: LessonPlanet.com
Title: Lesson Planet, membership required
http://www.lessonplanet.com/search/Science/Environment/Animals/Snakes
This site contains useful links to other snake resources.
Source: National Biological Information Infrastructure (nbii.gov)
Title: Reptiles and Amphibians
http://www.nbii.gov/education/herps.html
This site offers multiple herpetological links, classified by grade levels. “The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) <http://www.nbii.gov> is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources.”
Source: University of Massachusetts, Amhurst (umass.edu)
Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation
Title: Snakes of Massachusetts
http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/begin.html
This site offers general snake information, a brief history of snakes and illustrations.
Source: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
Title: Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Crotalus_atrox.html
Read about the natural history of this venomous snake of the Southwest
Source: 42Explore.com
Title: The Topic: Snakes
http://42explore.com/snake.htm
This site contains useful links to other snake resources.
Source: Teachers.net
Title: Guided reading: Snakes (elementary)
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1127.html
This site contains useful recommendations for books about snakes for elementary students.
