Page 2 - Kind News Jr. Teacher Guide, March/April 2022

COMMON CORE, NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS), AND CASEL-ALIGNED ACTIVITIES

Kindergarten: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide
additional detail. NGSS K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to
survive. CASEL Core Competency: Social Awareness To go with Amazing World, “Save The Snakes”: After reading the article,
ask students what a food web is. Do they think they are part of a food web? Give an example of living things that are connected
in a food web, such as snakes, their prey animals and the plants those prey animals eat, and ask students to think of other
similar relationships. Guide them to draw and label a simple food web with three organisms, including predators, prey, and/or
plants, using the picture in the article as a model. To extend the activity, students can describe what they have shown in their
webs to the class or to a small group.

First grade: NGSS Cross-cutting concept for standard 1-LS1-1 , Structure and Function The shape and stability of structures of
natural and designed objects are related to their function(s). CASEL Core Competency: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness
To go with Amazing World, “Save The Snakes”: After reading the article, ask students if they have ever seen a snake. If so,
what did they think? What did they do? Mention how Michael Starkey from Save The Snakes refers to snakes’
scales, fangs, and rattles. If possible, show students images of snakes where their external body parts,
such as scales, are visible. Ask students why they think snakes have scales. Then ask students to think
of other body parts animals have that protect or help them in some way. What external body parts
might humans have that help them? Ask students to choose one animal and discuss with a partner
how the animal's external body parts help them. To extend the activity, students could build models
of the external animal parts using materials available at school or home. Here are some ideas:

• Snakeskin: dry glue on a • Snail or turtle shells: mold • Bird feathers: attach pipe
smooth surface with clay and heat to dry cleaners to paper or fabric strips

Remind students that the first 20 kids to write a letter or poem about snakes and email it (with the help of
an adult) to KindNews@RedRover.org will get a sticker from Save The Snakes! They should remember to include
their name, age, and address. More stickers are available at savethesnakes.org.
Second grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of
events including details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings; use temporal words to signal event order and provide a
sense of closure. CASEL Core Competencies: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness To go with the Animal Job Quiz: After students
take the quiz, invite students to share what their career results were or what animal career they think they would most like to
have. List the careers they mention and then brainstorm other careers with animals they can think of. From this list, ask them
to pick one animal career they might want to have and talk to a partner about why they think they would be good at it. Ask
students to write a story where they describe what they would do during a typical day with their chosen career. Where would
they work? Who would they meet? What animals would they work with or help? To extend the activity, students can publish
their work and add hand-drawn or paper visuals to their narratives.

BOOK NOOK
Snakes for Kids: A Junior
Scientist's Guide to Venom, Scales,

and Life in the Wild

Written by Michael G. Starkey, Recommended for ages 5-9
Take an amazing journey into the wonderful world of snakes — fangs, rattles, scales, and all. Snakes for Kids
is filled with fascinating facts and wild photographs that will take you close up to serpents from around the globe! Dive into
their habitats and life cycles and see how their relationships with other animals create balance in the food web and help keep
ecosystems healthy.
Start by learning more about some of your favorite snakes — from the King Cobra to the massive Anaconda. Discover how
they move, what they eat, why they shed their skin, and plenty of other cool details. You’ll also meet a few lesser-known
snakes, like the strange family of blind snakes that tunnel underground. Learn everything there is to know about these
mysterious reptiles and become an expert on our slithering friends.
Says Dr. Sara Ruane, herpetologist and evolutionary biologist at Rutgers University, “Scientifically accurate books for kids
are a serious rarity, especially when it comes to snakes! Starkey's book is visually appealing, fun to read, and importantly
factual; this book will capture the attention of a budding herpetologist or any child who simply wants to know more about
these fascinating creatures.”
Copyright: Snakes for Kids: A Junior Scientist's Guide to Venom, Scales, and Life in the Wild. Save The Snakes. © 2020 by Rockridge Press, Emeryville,
CA. All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the international snake conservation efforts of Save The Snakes. Learn more at savethesnakes.org.