LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Snakes are cool

This lesson begins with a reading of Verdi by Janell Cannon. It integrates science with language arts as the students learn about snakes and write about their findings.

A lesson plan for grade 1 English Language Arts and Science

By Marcia Reich

Learn more

Related pages

  • Web of life: Students will apply their knowledge of the different categories of species that live on Earth. Students will then use a variety of thinking maps to display their information.
  • Currituck Banks: One of the four North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserves, Currituck Banks operates as a living laboratory for research, education and management.
  • Getting down & dirty with soils: In this lesson, we will explore different kinds of soil (humus, sand, clay). The students will plant seeds in the different soils as part of further exploration.

Related topics

Legal

This page copyright ©2008. Terms of use

Learning outcomes

Students will:

  • listen to the reading of Verdi and summarize the story.
  • learn characteristics of snakes and their habitats.
  • identify some snakes native to their North Carolina area.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

3 hours

Materials/resources

  • Verdi by Janell Cannon
  • nonfiction books about snakes:
    • A Child’s Book of Snakes by Kathleen Doly
    • Great Snakes by Fay Robinson
    • Sherie Borgar’s series on specific snakes
    • Golden Book of Snakes by Neil Curtis
  • fiction books on snakes:
    • Jimmy’s Boa Bounces Back by Trinka Noble
    • A Boy and a Boa by Abby Israel
    • Hide and Snake by Keith Boker
  • drawing paper
  • North Carolina snakes posters (North Carolina Wildlife Magazine)
  • newspapers, liquid starch, paints, waxed paper, wiggle eyes, and red felt

Technology resources

Animals 2.0 software

Activities

  1. Begin by asking students what they know about snakes. Then ask what they would like to learn about snakes. Record their comments on a chart.
  2. Read Verdi to the students, asking for predictions, cause and effect and noting characteristics of snakes as they grow. Note any facts they learned on the chart.
  3. Read nonfiction book Great Snakes by Fay Robinson. Add to chart as they find new facts.
  4. Using the North Carolina snakes posters, point out common snakes of the area. Make a special point of the poisonous snakes and the difference in head shape. Point out that most snakes hatch from eggs, but some have live babies.
  5. Have nonficton and fiction books available for independent reading and reference.
  6. After reviewing facts the students learned as recorded on the chart, demonstrate how to cut a circle into a spiral (snake) where they will write facts they have learned.
  7. Have students share their writings when finished.

Additional art activities:

  1. On drawing paper, have students draw a snake and give his skin a pattern. Cut the snakes out and display them. Additional writing could be done about their snakes.
  2. Paper mache snake: roll one single sheet of newspaper tightly and secure loose ends with masking tape. One end should be larger for the head of the snake and the other end the tail. Dip torn strips of newspaper into liquid starch and wrap around rolled paper until covered well. Several layers will make the snake stronger. Air dry on wax paper. Paint with tempera paints. If students want designs or patterns on their snakes, paint one color and let dry before adding designs. Wiggle eyes and a felt tongue glued under the mouth give the snakes personality. To seal paint and give surface a sheen, coat with clear sealer or slightly diluted Elmer’s glue (optional).
  3. Follow-up of the paper snakes could be fictional story writings.
  4. If available, ask someone who owns snakes as pets to bring one in for the class to observe, or if you’re lucky someone will catch a garden-variety snake and bring it to school.

Assessment

  • Can the students summarize the story Verdi?
  • Have the students acquired additional information about snakes?
  • Can the students name/identify snakes common to their area?
  • Can the students write facts about snakes?

Supplemental information

Weekly Reader, Edition 1 May/June 2000 Week 2, “Snakes May Help People.”

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 1: The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
    • Objective 1.02: Demonstrate decoding and word recognition strategies and skills:
      • generate the sounds from all the letters and appropriate letter patterns which should include consonant blends and long and short vowel patterns.
      • use phonics knowledge of sound-letter relationships to decode regular one-syllable words when reading words and text.
      • recognize many high frequency and/or common irregularly spelled words in text (e.g., have said, where, two).
      • read compound words and contractions.
      • read inflectional forms (e.g., -s, -ed, -ing) and root words (e.g., looks, looked, looking).
      • read appropriate word families.
  • Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.05: Predict and explain what will happen next in stories.
    • Objective 2.07: Respond and elaborate in answering what, when, where, and how questions.
  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.01: Elaborate on how information and events connect to life experiences.
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.01: Select and use new vocabulary and language structures in both speech and writing contexts (e.g., oral retelling using exclamatory phrases to accent an idea or event).
    • Objective 4.06: Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings).
  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.02: Apply phonics to write independently, using temporary and/or conventional spelling.
    • Objective 5.05: Use basic capitalization and punctuation
      • first word in a sentence.
      • proper names.
      • period to end declarative sentence.
      • question mark to end interrogative sentence.

Science (2005)

Grade 1

  • Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to build an understanding of the needs of living organisms.
    • Objective 1.02: Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals:
      • Air.
      • Water.
      • Food.
      • Shelter.
      • Space.
    • Objective 1.04: Identify local environments that support the needs of common North Carolina plants and animals.