Snake safety design brief

Summer is coming and with it come lots of fun outdoor activities. As the days get longer and hotter snakes are out and about again too.

That can be a real problem but not if you are prepared.

You must agree to become a

SERIOUS SNAKE SAFETY INVESTIGATOR…

…join the detective to continue with this task

Problem: We don’t know enough about snakes to stay safe this summer.

Question: How do we solve the problem ?

Answer: Follow Sally the snake detective to search for snake clues, take notes as you go if you like.

Taking notes during your investigation can be helpful to you in the design, production and

evaluation processes of this design brief. There are two investigation stages and three areas of design. You will make three end

products that aim to solve the problem. You may follow Sally and work through them in order or you may choose the direction of your own investigation.

As long as you solve the problem.

The more you learn the safer you’ll be if you see a snake this summer.

As a serious snake safety investigator you will:

1. Investigate – to increase your knowledge of snakes

2. Design – a model of a snake and its habitat

3. Produce – a model of a snake, its habitat and an information poster

4. Design and Produce – a method of communicating your knowledgeto others

5. Evaluate – How well your models represent reality

6. Investigate – to increase our safety in a snaky situation

7. Design and Produce – a method of communicating your knowledgeto others

8. Evaluate – How well your method of investigation, design andproduction served to solve the initial problem?

9. Your reward…..A slithery snake puzzle

Upon completion of your training you will be a…

• .

Certified Snake Safety Citizen

Your Task…Investigate. Step 1. A fact finding mission.

You will work together in small groups to investigate someserious snake facts to increase your awareness to help youstay safe. Write down any clues that you collect duringyour investigation

Who? Identify the variety of snakes that live in your area.What? Would you do if you saw a snake or were bitten?When? What season, time of day/night are you more likely to see a snake and why? What are there habits?Where? Identify their habitat, snakes like to play, hunt and hide in all types of placesWhy? Do snakes bite humans?

Where do snakes play, hunt, hide and live?

Can you guess which of the following places snakes could be?

Fast facts about snakes• Snakes have poor eyesight, and so have heat sensors that can pick up vibrations• Once the skin is shed the snakes' skin doesn't actually have a colour• Snakes have no limbs

Question? So how does a creature with no arms and legs and poor eyesight move around and hunt for food ?

Some Australian snakes• Click on a map to see which snakes natural habitat is highlighted in

green.

Copperhead Austrelaps superbus

• The copperhead feed mostly on frogs• and lizards but, occasionally small • mammals and birds may be taken. •

• The head of the lowland copperhead is small and not obviously distinct from the body.

http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/snakebite.html#tigerhttp://www.reptilepark.com.au/our-animals/reptiles/australian-venomous-snakes/http://www.snakehandler.com.au/

http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/venom/snakebite.html#tiger

http://www.reptilepark.com.au/our-animals/reptiles/australian-venomous-snakes/

http://www.snakehandler.com.au/

Common or Eastern Brown Snake Pseudonaja textilis Although brown snakes are

temperamental and dangerous

creatures, they will always try and

avoid a confrontation with humans

if possible.

• The eastern brown snake inhabits most of

eastern Australia from the desert to the coast





Death Adder Acanthopis antarcticus

Death adders are easily distinguishable from other snakes by the very short, squat bodies, rapidly tapering tail and the broad triangular head.

• The common death adder occurs over much of eastern and coastal southern Australia.





King Brown or Mulga snake Pseudechis australis

•

• The king brown snake has specialized in eating other reptiles. Lizards and snakes, including other king browns are preferred but occasionally birds, mammals and frogs are also consumed.

• King browns are robust snakes with a wide head and large specimens will reach a length over 2.5m.

• Did You Know? King browns must be regarded as being a potentially dangerous species. Its venom is not particularly toxic but it is produced in huge quantities. The average tiger snake produces around 10-20mg when milked. A good sized king brown snake may deliver over 150mg in one bite.





Rough Scaled Snake Tropidechis carinatus

The rough scaled snake is found mostly in northeastern non-arid areas. It may be striped, and hence confused with the tiger snake.





Redbellied Black Snake Pseudechis porphyriacus

The Redbellied Black snake is found in all

eastern non-arid areas

• This snake is dangerously venomous but bites are rare because it is usually a placid and fairly docile snake, preferring to enact a lengthy bluff display with flattened neck and deep hisses rather than bite.





Small Scaled or Fierce Snake Oxyuranus microlepidotus

• The fierce snake is the most toxic snake in the world with venom more potent than any other species by a large margin.

• The upper surface of the snake can vary from dark brown to a light straw colour.





Coastal Taipan Oxyuranus scuttelatus

They are Australia's largest venomous

snakes reaching 2.8 metres in length.

The Coastal Taipan is the largest, and its size is believed to be prey related. It is a superb mammal hunter. Because of its large size, extra long fangs and copious venom supply, some people believe its main prey is the bandicoot.





Tiger Snake Notechis scutatus

• Tiger snakes are large deadly snakes that have been responsible for many deaths in Australia.

• The common tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) is found primarily in the cooler wet regions of south eastern Australia. ‘It eats anything that moves', but prefers to live in the swamps and feast on the frogs

• These are venomous snakes, and will attack if they are disturbed or threatened. Otherwise, they can live quietly. They are also often territorial, and will live in the same area for years. They are also found in suburban areas, even in the newer suburbs.





Congratulations you have succeed in increasing your snake awareness.Step 2. Design. Gather the facts

• Now that you have gathered same serious snake facts each person in the group is to;

• Choose one of the snakes native to your area. Use the information that you have gathered to decide on your favorite local snake.

• Using your knowledge, design a 3D model of your favorite snake and a habitat that it may be found in. You may do this with pencil and paper or using ‘paint’ on the computer if one is available to you.

Production Instructions…Step 3. Produce

some hard evidence

• You may use materials including paper, fabric, clay, play-dough, salt-dough (see recipe), cardboard or plastic as long as you are able to color your snake to accurately represent the type that you have chosen.

• You will then Produce a 3D model snake. It must be no larger than 25 cm and should take no more than 45 minutes to produce (make). You are to use a shoe box, supplied by the teacher to recreate a place where you may find this particular snake. You may use materials collected from the class craft box, playground or from home. If you do not complete your snakes’ habitat box in class time then you may take it home to finish or be allocated some extra time in class if you need it.

Salt dough

• 250g plain white flour• 100g salt• 2 Tblspn cooking oil• Water

• Mix all ingredients together, ask an adult to help you.

• Place finished models on baking tray with foil and bake (180 degrees C) 25 minutes.

Share your knowledgeStep 4. Design and Produce

Put your case forward

• Design and produce a poster to be displayed with your snake habitat box model in the school library summer safety display.

• Include a photo and description of your snake. You may download and print a picture from the internet or from any other information source that you can find e.g. conservation brochures, wildlife parks, etc.

• Your poster should have a title and briefly list some important facts about your snake and should be done on A4 size paper. It may be handwritten or computer processed

Well done snake safety investigatorsStep 5. Evaluate

• Now its time for you to evaluate your models. Go back and check what your snake looks like and where it lives. How well does your model represent the real thing?

• When your happy with your work its time to investigate some serious safety issues. Go to Step 5.

Serious Snake ScenariosStep 6. More investigation…

NOW IN SMALL GROUPSINVESTIGATE SOME SERIOUS SNAKE SAFETY THAT

COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE OR THAT OF SOMEONE YOU KNOW.

• What do you do if you see a snake?

• What should you do if you or someone your with are bitten by a snake?

What should you do

What shouldYou do

Helping others by sharing your knowledgeStep 7. Design and Produce

Learning from your experience

• Use the clues you’ve collected along the way and work together to produce a large poster to inform people about what to do if they see a snake to avoid being bitten.

• You should give your poster a suitable TITLE

• It must include information about what to do if you see a snake• It must include 5 things that you should do if a snake bites you. • You may include other information that you have learnt and found interesting. If you need more ideas of the types of information you could include click on the icon to go back to step 1..

Step 8.Have you got all of the facts?

• Do you remember what the initial problem was? If your not sure go back to the plan and

check.

• Evaluate: How effective has your research been in increasing your snake awareness?

• Evaluate: How effective is your model and habitat box at representing your snake?

• Evaluate: Do your posters serve to solve the initial problem by increasing snake awareness and snake safety procedures?

• Evaluate: What else could you/your class do to improve your products and results?

This is to certify that

______________________Has completed tasks in investigation, design, production and evaluation of

snake safety and awareness.

Certified Snake Safety Citizen

CongratulationsBest wishes for a happy and safe summer.

Click here for your reward

A fun reward activity: Test your knowledge, you may refer back to internet sites for the answers if you are unsure.

References

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA]. (2005). Victorian Essential

Learning Standards: English. East Melbourne: VCAA

Wright, R. (2002). Pirates: Things to make, facts, activities: Sydney: Franklin Watts.

Websites hyperlinked in this lesson plan:

http://www.bluemts.com.au/reptilepark/default.asp


http://www.snakehandler.com.au/?pid=main&p=30

http://www.barefootbushman.com/ptigersnake.htm

http://www.australianfauna.com/tigersnake.php

http://www.stjohn.org.au/emergency.htm

http://www.coolszoo.org/animals/areas/reptiles/snakfact.html

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailskids.aspx?p=335&np=


http://www.chw.edu.au/poisons/bites_stings.htm#snakes

http://www.stjohn.org.au/images/stjohn/information/FS_snake_aug2011.pdf

http://www.stjohnnsw.com.au/mc/fs/PDFs%20from%20national%20website%20-%20most%20up%20to%20date%20on%2009-09-09/07-06%20snake%20bite.pdf

Task 3:Lesson Plan, Unit Code:TJ501.Annmaree Christian Student No. 2672557

• Topic and Focus: Snake Safety and awareness: The focus of this design is for students to become informed about snakes: how to identify various types of local snakes that the students may encounter: when are they more likely to come across a snake: What to do and what not to do if they see snake: Basic procedures to follow if they or someone they are with are bitten by a snake.

• VELS Level (VCAA, 2005): Level 3. • Duration of the Lesson: Over four one hour classes, preferably over the course of one week to

intensify the learning by keeping the knowledge current in their minds so that they can build on it as they work through the steps.

• Learning Focus: As per VELS Standards at Level 3 (VCAA,2005), children will individually and in groups work through the design brief and will need to demonstrate their knowledge about eh diversity of design briefs as they establish the importance of investigation as a first step. This design brief presents with the option to follow “Sally” or the children may choose to work through the steps in any order. The ‘plan’ presented on Slide 4 outlines the entire design brief and has a link forwards and back to each step. This is presented at the beginning so that children have the opportunity to investigate what is expected of them before they begin their investigation and allows them to choose the direction that they travel to work through the lesson plan. They should establish that the step by step process is the most logical however not the only way of completing the task successfully. They will use words, in the form of note taking, and labelled sketches and models to communicate the details of their designs, which also forms part of their evaluation. They have to choose from a range of materials: to make their model snakes and habitat boxes: and use a variety of techniques in the production stages: construction, decoration: communication via informative posters either hand drawn or computer generated. They will evaluate and revise their designs and consider how well their end products meet the intended purpose: By reflecting on how well their models represent their chosen snake and its habitat: how their information posters communicate their knowledge.

Task 3:Lesson Plan, Unit Code:TJ501.Annmaree Christian Student No. 2672557

• Assessment Criteria and method of evaluation: Students will be assessed on their ability to interpret the tasks given and after investigation, they will design and produce a snake in a habitat box with a poster describing and depicting their chosen snake. They will also be required to work in groups to design and produce a poster of snake safety steps in the case of an emergency. Observation of student progress, including the following: the thought processes that are expressed in their designs, effectiveness of the materials that they have chosen and how they have been used to meet the desired goal: How well the models represent reality: the specific features of their chosen snake are clear and evident and in line with the photographic representation found on the internet, the lesson plan or other source as described on their information poster. E.g. the Red-bellied black snake is presented as black with a pink to red belly. By talking to the students as they work through the lesson plan the teacher can make a assessment on the thought processes and evaluate the end products according to the criteria, that it must represent the characteristics of a real snake. Students will be required to self-evaluate their models and work with others to share their knowledge and produce information posters to demonstrate what they have learnt. These posters are another assessment tool for the teacher.

• Background knowledge: Most students, especially those that live in or have visited rural areas, will know what a snake is. Many children may have seen snakes at zoos, on their farms or on television and have little or distorted knowledge about them. That is to say that this lesson plan aims to dispel the myths and prepare students in order for them to keep safe around snakes. Prior to starting this lesson an excursion to the zoo or reptile park could be helpful to give students a real life starting point. This type of excursion can open students minds to lots of possibilities and can give them some creative insight on the types of habitats that snakes are native to.

• Resources and materials: Shoe Boxes, A4 paper, A3 paper, cardboard, cylinders, salt dough ingredients as per recipe (Slide 22), clay, paints paint brushes, glue, adhesive tape, scissors, textas, pencils, computers and printers, leaves, sticks, small stones and other garden matter.

• Early Finishers: May play snakes and ladders, slithery snake puzzle at the end of lesson plan.

Snake safety design brief

Education

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