Why do we need snakes?
Snakes help keep rodent populations from growing out of control and damaging crops or buildings.

• Snakes are reptiles. Their body temperature changes with their surroundings. They get warm by sitting in the sun or other warm places. They cool down in shade. During winter in colder climates snakes hibernate under ground.
• Life-cycle of a  snake – Egg to snake in 60 days, or live birth. Most snakes hatch from eggs and live on their own once hatched. Garter snakes give birth to live babies. Snakes are fully capable of taking care of themselves from birth.
• Where do snakes live? Everywhere except Antarctica, the Arctic Circle, some islands, like Ireland and New Zealand, and on tall mountains where it’s too cold for them to survive.
• What do snakes eat? Smaller snakes eat rodents such as mice and rats; frogs and insects. Larger snakes eat larger prey, like squirrels, rabbits or birds. Some  snakes eat other snakes and lizards.

Books to Read

The Snake Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series)
by Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop (educational)

DK Readers: Slinky, Scaly Snakes (Level 2: Beginning to Read Alone)
by Jennifer Dussling (educational)

Snake Camp (A Stepping Stone Book)
by George Edward Stanley (entertainment to quell fear of snakes)

Hide and Snake
by Keith Baker (encourages imagination)

Paper plate
scissors
marker
sewing needle
thread, cut into 12”  to 18” pieces
crayons

Procedure:

1. Draw an oval in the middle of a paper plate.

2. Starting from the oval, draw a spiraling line out to the edge of the plate (be sure to spiral 4 or 5 times).

3. Draw eyes on the inner oval (snake head) and let children color the snake’s body.

4. Cut along the spiral line starting from the outside edge and working your way to the center oval.

5. Sew thread through center of snake’s head, securing on the back side with a knot.

Questioning and Discussion:

What colors did the children use to make their snakes?

What do colors help real snakes do?

Why would snakes need to hide?

Various colors of construction paper cut into strips 2” wide by 6” long
Yarn, cut into 16” lengths
Wiggle eyes
Glue

Procedure:

Fold construction paper strips into a circle and glue. Allow the glue to dry. Then thread the circles onto a piece of yarn, making the snake. Glue wiggle eyes on the snake’s head.

Explain to the class that snakes are interesting to look at, but not interested in being touched. Go over the rules of a snake encounter – look from a distance, and walk away. Explain how important it is to tell an adult if someone gets bit by a snake.

Blindfolds
Paper plates
Oranges
Lemons
Limes
Grapefruit
Fruit drink

Procedure:

1. Cut oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit into small sections
2. Place one of each on a paper plate
3. Blindfold students before putting the plates in front of them
4. Have students “smell” each piece of fruit with their tongues and guess which type of fruit they’ve “smelled”.
5. After each child has smelled their fruit like a snake, give each a glass of juice. Students can eat the fruit separately or put the slices in the juice and enjoy.

Alternative to fruit:

Teacher can use any vegetable or fruit with similar consistencies (like white potato and sweet potato) for the “smell” like a snake snack. Or different flavors of potato chips work too.

Materials:

Students and open space for running

Procedure:

Select one child to be the snake. In the fashion of tag, have the child tag another child. The second child then joins hands with the first. Together the snake now tries to tag a third child, who, in turn, joins the snake. The game continues until all the children are part of the snake. Exception: if the snake breaks apart during the game by someone accidentally letting go, the last child on the chain now becomes the snake and the game begins again.

Indoor game:

SSSSSound like  a snake
Materials::

Students

Procedure:

Talk about how sssssilly it is to sssssound like a sssssnake. Sit class in a circle on the floor or put desks in a circle. Start with the first child, who says, “My name is sssss (insert child’s name), and I like ssssspaghetti.” Then each child takes turns saying their name with the sssss in front and finding a silly sssss word to like. Ask each child to come up with their own unique ssssword. Once each child has said their ssssname and a sssssilly word, go around the room as many times as you’d like adding an additional ssssword per round. “I like ssssspaghetti and sssssauce.”