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Snakes
A Unit Study by Sharon Jacksack
Outline
I. What is a snake?
http://www.42explore.com/snake.htm
A. A snake is a reptile. See Chapter 1
of Time/Life book The Reptiles, also I Can Read About Reptiles
http://pelotes.jea.com/ColoringPage/Reptile/Reptile.htm
1. Vertebrate
Animal -- That is, has a backbone
2. Scales (we'll be
coming back to this later) Compare snake scales to other reptile scales
3. Breathes Air
4. Lays eggs (usually)
(we'll be coming back to this one too.)
5. Cold-blooded
B. Other Reptiles are: Lizards, Turtles,
Crocodiles, Tuatara, and Dinosaurs
C. Compare Snakes v. Lizards (Venn Diagram)
1. Legs/No legs
2. Can close
eyes/Cannot close eyes
3. External ears/no
external ears
4. "Shedable"
tail/No "shedable" tail
D. Four families of snakes (we will be coming
back to this)
1. Boidae -- Boas and
anacondas
2. Colubridae --
"typical" non-venomous snakes
3. Viperidae -- Pit
vipers and Rattlesnakes
4. Elapidae -- Cobras
E. Where do snakes live? Everywhere
pretty much. Not at the poles. Most snakes live in warm
places.
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/snakes/
Prepare a map showing places
where snakes live.
F. What do snakes eat? See page 13 of the
How and Why Book of Snakes, and pages 41-53 of The Reptiles
1. All snakes are
carnivorous.
2. Special hinged jaw
(picture please)
3. Digestive saliva and
venom
II. Evolution of
Snakes
A. View and create a diagram of how snakes
evolved.
III. Adaptations of
Snakes
A. Snake anatomy
http://media.nasaexplores.com/lessons/02-014/9-12_1.pdf
http://www.szgdocent.org/cc/c-long.htm
1. Diagram of snake
insides
http://137.222.110.150/calnet/snakeskele/snakeskele.htm
http://herpetology.com/anatomy.html
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT009B&File_type=GIF
2. Scales/skin
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT010B&File_type=GIF
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT034B&File_type=GIF
a. Protection from physical injury, but also moisture loss, and
blocks UV rays. This is tough stuff. Tough enough to resist
friction from rubbing over the ground.
b. Color and Pattern (coloring pages of snakes)
http://colortheanimals.com/set7.html
c. Keeled vs. smooth
3. Locomotion
4. Vision
5. Special senses
a. Smell and taste - Jacobson's Organ
b. Heat sensitive pits
6. Thermoregulation
7. Venom
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT012B&File_type=GIF
8. Reproduction
9. Predation
10. Hibernation
IV. Snakes and Humans
A. Human Fear/Hatred of Snakes -- Is it nurture or
nature?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1004_snakefears.html
B. "Old-wives" tales about snakes.
C. Snakes in Bible, Folklore, and Mythology
http://www.100megsfree4.com/snakeclan/snakeclan.htm
1. Genesis Account
2. Moses
3. Greeks/Romans
http://home.wanadoo.nl/mjm.vandervoort/engels/y3-articles/y3-articles-cirkelslang.htm
4. India - In India,
even the most poisonous snake, the cobra, is a sacred animal, and the
mythological Serpent King is the next thing to the Buddha. The serpent
represents the power of life engaged in the field of time, and of death,
yet eternally alive. The world is but its shadow....the falling skin.
5. China & Japan
6. Africa
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plans/lesson-3842.html
7. Scotland/Ireland/St.
Patrick
8. Americas
a.
The serpent was revered in the American Indian traditions, too. The
serpent was thought of as a very important power to be made friends
with. Go down to the pueblos, for example, and watch the snake dance of
the Hopi, where they take the snakes
in their mouths and make friend with them and then send them back to the
hills. The interplay of man and nature is illustrated in this
relationship with the serpent.
D. Snakes in Literature
V. Specific Snakes
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/animalsinthewild/
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/images/kids/colorbk/psnake.gif
A. Pythons, Anacondas and Boas
http://www.freecoloringpages.com/coloring/treesnake.html
B. North American Non-venomous Snakes
1. Garter Snakes - Focus on
Herpetologist Robert Mason's Research in Manitoba
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT032B&File_type=GIF
C. North American Venomous Snakes
1. The Timber
Rattlesnake
http://www.rattlesnakes.com/core.html
http://www.drawbooks.com/draw_series/26.htm#rattle1
D. International Rear-Fanged and Venomous Snakes
1. Black Mamba
2. King Cobra
VI. Snake Conservation
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/filedet.htm?File_name=REPT032B&File_type=GIF
A. Why bother?
1. Rodent/Vermin control
2. Medicine
B. How do you keep track of snake populations?
C. Threats to snake populations
VII. Keeping snakes as pets
Language Arts
Biographies
St. Patrick -- The most famous legend about St. Patrick is that he miraculously
drove snakes and all venomous beasts from Ireland by banging a drum. Even
to touch Irish soil was purported to be instant death for any such creature.
However, this legend is probably a metaphor for his driving the pagans from
Ireland, as snakes were often associated with pagan worship. Read the real
biography of St. Patrick.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/whowas/
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
Dr. Robert Mason -- A snake biologist
dedicated to study and protect snakes, particularly the red-sided garter
snake.
The Snake Scientist, written
by Sy Montgomery, pictures by Nic Bishop, Houghton Mifflin
Company 1999.
Non-Fiction Books
Snakes,
by David Badger, Photos by John Netherton, 1999; ISBN 0-89658-408-9
Snakes,
by Rachel Firth and Jonathan Sheikh-Miller, Illustrated by John
Woodcock, Usborne Publishing, 2001; ISBN 1-58086-344-2
The
Secret World of Snakes, by Theresa Greenway, Illustrated by Jim
Channell, 2001;
ISBN 0-7398-3510-6
A
Gathering of Garter Snakes, Text and Photos by Bianca Lavies, 1993;
ISBN 0-525-45099-8
The
Secretive Timber Rattlesnake, Text and Photos by Bianca Lavies,
1990; ISBN 0-525-44572-2
All
About Rattlesnakes, Written and Illustrated by Jim Arnosky, 1997; ISBN
0-590-46794-8
Amazing
Snakes, An Eyewitness Junior book, by DK Publishing
Fiction Books
Verdi,
by Janelle Canon
An activity based on Verdi: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~n64ld/snakes_4.htm
A
Water Snake's Year, by Doris Gove, Illustrated by Beverly Duncan,
1991; ISBN 0-689-31597-X
Lake
of the Big Snake, by Isaac Olaleye, Illustrated by Claudia Shepherd,
1998; ISBN 1-56397-096-1
Vocabulary
-
| snake |
python |
body |
hollow fangs |
constrictor |
carnivorous |
| venom |
marking |
unhinged jaw |
predator |
skin pattern |
coloration |
| prey |
estivation |
endangered |
export |
snake handler |
neck |
| vertebrate |
live bearer |
ground dweller |
head |
belly |
tail |
| arboreal |
burrowing snake |
heat receptor |
coil |
snout |
ovoviviparous |
| digestive
enzyme |
nocturnal |
sloughing |
hatchling |
scales |
arboreal |
| crepuscular |
swimmer |
climber |
dormant |
serpent |
diurnal |
| terrestrial |
hibernation |
clutch |
reptile |
amphibian |
mouth |
| torpor |
antivenin |
tongue |
hiss |
'snake-pit' |
Jacobson organ |
| bifurcated |
nonpoisonous |
oviparous |
viviparous |
aquatic |
ectotherm |
| pit viper |
aquatic |
brill |
herpetology |
Miscellaneous Websites
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/ntti/resources/lessons/s_warriors/
http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/snakecrafts.html
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/animalsinthewild/snakemistakes/
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