For the Classroom
Herp, herp, herp. It's all about herps. It's a funny little word that covers some funny little creatures. Have fun learning about them with these easy classroom projects.
Magnificent Metamorphosis
From an egg to a tadpole to a polliwog to a frog, watching the development of these amphibious creatures is quite amazing. You used to be able to walk down to your local pond and catch a bucketful of tadpoles to raise, but populations are dwindling and it has become illegal in many areas. Today, you can order frog hatchery kits that come with a small tank, instructions, educational information, and everything else you need to watch tiny frog embryos hatch into tadpoles and develop, over eight to ten weeks, into frogs.
When your tadpoles hatch, they look like tiny fish and they breathe through gills. Can you see the gills using a magnifying glass? Over the next six to eight weeks, the tadpoles will first grow fat tummies, then they'll grow back legs and feet, and finally they'll grow front legs. For the next two weeks, they'll stop eating and begin living off the energy stored in their tail. The tail slowly shrinks; when it disappears, you have a frog that will now breathe air with its lungs.
Any time you have wildlife in your classroom, it is important to address sanitation issues with your students. If anyone touches the creatures (or even the habitat), they should wash their hands well with soap and water. Use regular soap; it has been shown to be just as effective as antibacterial soap and does not contain the toxic ingredient triclosan.
Snake Tales
Most of Aesop's fables use animals to tell the story and many use snakes. Find the story “The Serpent and the Eagle” to read in class. In the fable, a snake was about to kill an eagle when a man saved the eagle's life. In retaliation, the snake left some venom in the man's drinking horn. Unaware of this, the man went to take a swig, but the eagle knocked the horn out of his hands, spilling the water and the venom onto the ground.
Have your students discuss the moral of the story. Older students can write their own short fable using a snake as one of the characters. What lesson do they want to teach their readers? For younger kids, you can help them make a snake as a craft project using old neckties. They just sew or glue the small end of the tie shut, fill it with rice or beans, sew or glue the large end shut, and decorate their snake.
