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Pythons in the Wild

Pythons inhabit diverse environments throughout the world. Students will learn about these creatures and create a diorama that depicts them in the wild.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Craft Materials
  • Recycled Cardboard Box
  • Recycled Materials

Steps

  • Step 1

    There are over 40 species of python snakes in the world, and none of them are venomous or poisonous. Have students learn about some of them, such as the green tree python (one of the few arboreal species), the Burmese python (the bulkiest of all pythons), the reticulated python (the longest species), or any others. Ask them to learn other facts about pythons. Do they have fangs? How do the kill and eat their prey? Are they harmful to humans? Have them look at images of various species.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to create a diorama of pythons in the wild. To begin they can turn a box on its side and decorate the background using construction paper. They can create a jungle floor using the lid of the box, if available. They can create the pythons out of Model Magic. Encourage students to use images of pythons to guide and inspire them. Additional embellishments can be made out of construction paper cut-outs and craft items such as faux plants.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their dioramas and discuss some of the facts they learned about this worldwide species.

  • Step 7

Standards

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

MATH: Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.

SCI: Investigate the life cycles of plants and animals to compare similarities and differences among organisms.

VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

Adaptations

Have students form groups to collaboratively create a python trivia game. They can put questions on one side and answers on the other and quiz their friends.

Have students explore the spiritual symbolism of pythons in various cultures. For example, in Native American symbolism they're associated with transformation and rebirth as well as healing and strength. In Celtic culture it is believed that if a python, a creature that sheds its skin periodically, crosses your path it is time to let go of the past and move on to another phase of your life.