Herpetological Education Resources

Reptile/Amphibian Fact Files
Fact sheets and diagrams from The Learning Page. You will need to register for a free account to view these pages.

Reptile/Amphibian Lesson Plans
You will need to register for an account at The Learning Page to view these plans. A collection of lesson plans and resources for preschool through second grade.

Snake Life Cycle
A photo illustration of a snake's life cycle.

Alligators and Crocodiles (K-2)
This lesson introduces students to the American alligator, the Nile crocodile, and SuperCroc (the prehistoric crocodilian species Sarcosuchus imperator). Students will learn about each species' geographical range, habitat, diet, and behaviors. They will conclude the lesson by designing zoo habitats for alligators or crocodiles and creating captions providing information about these species' prehistoric relative.

Crocs, Then and Now
Grades 6-8. This lesson has students investigate the geographical distributions, habitats, and other features of modern crocodilians and SuperCroc (Sarcosuchus imperator). Students will consider the things we can learn about one species by studying the other. They will create Venn diagrams to compare and contrast one modern species with SuperCroc. They will conclude by writing paragraphs describing this comparison and explaining how each species helps us learn about the other.

Crocodiles
Grades 6-8. Changes in the environment have important effects on the way many types of animals evolve over long periods of time.

Snake Printouts from Enchanted Learning.com
Sheets on eight different snake species, and links to lesson plans, diagrams and more.

Snakes Alive Web Quest Lesson Plan
An entertaining lesson plan designed for a first grade class.

Specific Snakes
This index has links to a few hundred websites that contain information and photos of specific kinds of snakes.

Reptile Adaptations
A lesson plan from Discovery School. Adaptation describes the changing traits that enable reptiles to live in their environments.

Snakes
A lesson plan from Discovery School for grades 6-8. Different types of snakes have different physical characteristics that help them survive and succeed in their particular habitats.

Venomous Snakes
Learning about venomous snakes.

The Infrared Zoo
Infrared light shows us the heat radiated by the world around us. By viewing animals with a thermal infrared camera, we can actually "see" the differences between warm and cold-blooded animals. Infrared also allows us to study how well feathers, fur and blubber insulate animals.

 

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