A PROJECT ON REPTILES

Two Early Childhood Education student teachers at Brigham Young University who were assigned to a Chapter I, second grade class of 26 children were successful in engaging the children's minds and extending their skills using a project on reptiles. This is their report: 

PHASE I

To begin the reptile project, student teachers, Amy Wilzbach and Katherine Whitlow, discussed their own knowledge of reptiles. They realized they did not have a clear concept of a reptile's characteristics, features, class, etc. They discussed aspects of reptiles they thought might interest the children.

Next, the student teachers webbed their knowledge of reptiles with the children. They suggested the children list animals they knew were reptiles, and list what they ate, where they lived, how they were born, number of legs and their sizes. The student teachers uncovered misconceptions the children had about reptiles. They then discussed memories the children had with reptiles. The students enjoyed sharing stories about reptiles they had seen and telling about educational television programs they had watched about reptiles.

The student teachers also sent notes home to the parents informing them that the children were beginning a study on reptiles. They asked that the children discuss with their parents any experiences their parents might have had with reptiles.

PHASE II

Phase II began with separating the children into research groups: reptile characteristics, alligators and crocodiles, turtles and tortoises, lizards, and snakes. They gave the children the opportunity to choose the research group that interested them the most. The student teachers gave each group some questions to answer related to their subject, and also asked the students to find facts they found interesting related to their topic. The questions came from the expressed misconceptions and questions the children raised during the initial webbing.

The groups looked through the numerous information books provided. One child read that the longest snake ever measured was 33 feet long. The child then wanted to see how long 33 feet was, so he got out a measuring stick. He was amazed to discover that the world's longest snake was 3 feet longer than the classroom! After the groups had finished, they shared their discoveries with the whole class. Throughout the project, the children looked through the informational books and found interesting facts which they added to their own reptile fact file.

Reading the informational books also led to the discovery that reptile eggs are leathery rather than hard like chicken eggs. The students were curious about what a "leathery egg" would feel like. So, the student teachers brought in some vinegar and a boiled chicken egg. The egg was soaked in the vinegar for a day to soften the egg shell making it feel leathery. The students could then understand what a reptile egg might feel like. Many students were so excited about this experiment that they brought in their own eggs to soak in vinegar. The students also discovered from their reading that reptile legs are on the sides of their body rather than underneath like ours. The children enjoyed imitating how reptiles move.

The student teachers brought a live iguana and horny toad (lizard) into the classroom. They gave the children the opportunity to look at these reptiles, draw observational drawings, and touch them. They also shared information about these reptiles which led to wonderful dialogue with the students.

The children attended the live reptile show during their visit to the Monte L. Bean Museum of Natural Science. They had the opportunity to have many hands-on experiences with reptiles. They could see and touch live snakes, a turtle, and a lizard. The children also touched alligator skin, alligator teeth and jaws, an empty turtle shell, and anaconda snake skin (which was impressively long!). Inside the turtle shell they could see and touch the turtle's backbone. The children also saw the skeleton of a snake.

An expert talked to the students about reptiles and answered the questions. They learned many interesting facts. The children were very excited to be able to see these things in real life. The next day the student teachers and children wrote a group experience chart about the field trip that was then read aloud. Afterward, the children wrote their own stories about the field trip.

The child who read about the 33-foot python decided that making a 33-foot long snake out of paper would be fun. The whole class got involved carefully measuring to make sure the snake was the right length. The result was a colorful 33 foot long snake, complete with fangs and forked tongue. Another class member remembered that her kindergarten teacher had a turtle; she arranged with the teacher to bring the turtle to class. This led to more wonderful observational drawings and discussion about turtles.

The students were also excited about watching a National Geographic Video entitled "The World of Reptiles." This allowed them to see reptiles in their natural habitat. They were particularly interested to see the Komodo Dragon (monitor lizard) which is the largest lizard. They had read about the dragon in books and were interested in seeing it on the video.

As the project progressed, the student teachers composed "math problems" related to the reptile study. They presented a hypothetical situation where a reptile zoo in Florida was interested in having their reptiles shown in Utah. However, the zoo was not able to send all of its reptiles because of weight restrictions. The student teachers asked that the children determine from a list of reptiles and their weight, which reptiles they would send. They then figured out how much their proposed reptiles would weigh together. They calculated the weight of various combinations of reptiles to be sent for the show.

Additionally, the students created their own reptile models out of salt dough which they later painted. (It was amazing to see how hard they worked on their creations.) Throughout the project, the children read fiction books with reptile characters and worked on activities related to them. The fiction books also led to discussion about things that were accurate in the books about reptiles and things that were false or fanciful.

One exciting literature activity grew out of reading the book, "The Greedy Python." The children decided that creating a play from the story would be fun. The children made all of the characters and glued them to Popsicle sticks. They also created fabulous scenery and worked hard on narrator parts. During the project, there were numerous opportunities for the children to share their knowledge through reading, writing, and discussion. They kept a file of facts about reptiles they learned from their investigations.

PHASE III

To bring the project to a close, the children worked together in planning a presentation for parents which included their "Greedy Python" play and an exhibit of their reptiles made out of salt dough assembled in the class "Reptile Zoo." They also created a reptile bulletin board displaying some of the children's best work accumulated throughout the project. The children created their own signs to explain their salt dough creations. They sent invitations home inviting parents to attend the play and visit the "Reptile Zoo."

They also extended a special invitation to the class next door. The children were delighted at the turnout of the parents! Some of the parents arrived late, so it became necessary to perform the play a second time. Parents were then given the opportunity to look at the reptile board and "Zoo". Both the parents and the children were excited about the reptile presentation.

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Last revised: March 17, 1996