Re: Herps in School

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Educator Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Rick on October 26, 1998 at 20:46:53:

In Reply to: Re: Herps in School posted by John Hollister on October 18, 1998 at 20:05:15:

I've been keeping herps in the classroom and in the hallways at my elementary school for years. I have had a 5 foot green iguana in the school lobby, which due to frequent petting is baby tame. I have had a 3 foot desert kingsnake in the classroom for about 15 years. I raised 2 baby boas who grew up, got about 6 feet long, dropped 21 babies, and got too big, so they went. Over the last 18 years I have kept in the classroom leopard geckos, alligator lizards, a small burmese python, 3toed box turtles, tiger salamanders, whites treefrogs, mice, rats, and more. Need I say that kids would kill to get in my classroom?

: Mike:

: A middle school here in Abilene, TX has numerous herps in the science room, on loan from me and a math teacher who is a herper.

: The panther chameleon was a hit, but the veiled chameleon had a painful grip.

: Tarantulas are great to look at, but many are not safe to let crawl on the students.

: Any of the getula kingsnakes, rosy boas, other colubrids are generally fine, handleable snakes.

: Handling many of the animals is a reward, either for grades, behaviour or other meritorious acts.

: Another suggestion: there is a teacher in NC, a member of the NCHS whose name I can't remember, who puts out a newspaper for and written by his class. It is called "U.S. News and Herp Report. In it, students write of observations of various types of animals - spiders, snakes, amphibs,turtles, for inclusion in the paper, which is photocopied on standard sized paper.

: I think this is one of the best ideas I've seen yet. It not only gets the students to observe animals (whether in the wild or in the home), but it gets them to think and to write.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: I've been keeping herps in the classroom and in the hallways at my elementary school for years. I have had a 5 foot green iguana in the school lobby, which due to frequent petting is baby tame. I have had a 3 foot desert kingsnake in the classroom for about 15 years. I raised 2 baby boas who grew up, got about 6 feet long, dropped 21 babies, and got too big, so they went. Over the last 18 years I have kept in the classroom leopard geckos, alligator lizards, a small burmese python, 3toed box turtles, tiger salamanders, whites treefrogs, mice, rats, and more. Need I say that kids would kill to get in my classroom? : : Mike: : : A middle school here in Abilene, TX has numerous herps in the science room, on loan from me and a math teacher who is a herper. : : The panther chameleon was a hit, but the veiled chameleon had a painful grip. : : Tarantulas are great to look at, but many are not safe to let crawl on the students. : : Any of the getula kingsnakes, rosy boas, other colubrids are generally fine, handleable snakes. : : Handling many of the animals is a reward, either for grades, behaviour or other meritorious acts. : : Another suggestion: there is a teacher in NC, a member of the NCHS whose name I can't remember, who puts out a newspaper for and written by his class. It is called "U.S. News and Herp Report. In it, students write of observations of various types of animals - spiders, snakes, amphibs,turtles, for inclusion in the paper, which is photocopied on standard sized paper. : : I think this is one of the best ideas I've seen yet. It not only gets the students to observe animals (whether in the wild or in the home), but it gets them to think and to write.

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Educator Forum ] [ FAQ ]