Last Snake Runner

8/8/2019 Last Snake Runner

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Running is like breathing for members of the Snake

Clan, so when Kendall learns that his new step-

mother's ancestors wiped out his tribe four hundred

years ago, he runs away from home to the desert to

clear his head and be among the spirits of his motherand great-grandfather, the last surviving member of

the Snake Clan. But this night will change Kendall's

life forever: the spirits are calling him to slip away

from his time and go back to a day when the Snake

Clan was free. Only Kendall knows that the recently

arrived conquistadors will bring death and destruc-

tion to his tribe and it is his duty to help his ances-

tors survive the invasion. But can Kendall himself

survive? Can he give his people the hope they needto endure so that he can exist in the future?

Synopsis

If you study the jacket art, what culture do you think this story

will tell about?

What do you suppose a snake runner does?

Read the prologue. Why do you think the author begins the

story describing this ritual?

Perhaps he traveled to a place where time stands still, said

the older man. What could this statement foreshadow?

B y

K i m b e r l e y Gr i f f i t h s Li t t l e

"A tale of wonder and awe, mystery and heal-ing, this story transforms the meaning of alesson in early American history."~Urban Spectrum

"Litt le's strength is her depiction of daily lifeamong the Acoma, especially the ceremo-nies performed by the now-extinct SnakeClan . . ."~ Booklist

"Litt le paints friendships, landscapes, andtraditions in memorable detail. . . . usefuland beneficial in integrated middle schoolsocial studies/ language arts curriculum."~VOYA(Voice of Youth Advocates)

T H E LAST SNAKE R UNNE R

A L E A R N I N G G U I D E F O R :

Pre-Reading/ Prediction Questions:

* * * * * * * * * * * *L and of E nchantment A w ard L istN ew M exico Batt le of t he Books L istH ot Of f t he Press ChoiceD earReader.com W eekl y B ook Choice* * * * * * * * * * * *


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P a g e 2 THE LAST SNAKE RUNNER

Teaching Tip:

Have the students keep anongoing journal where they can

respond to the discussion

questions or just write their

thoughts as they read.

Chapter 1 : Kend all de scribe s his

passion for running a s he ran like

other people bre athed. Where

doe s this passion come from?

Chapter 2: Why is Kend all having

such a hard time a ccep ting Jua-

nita? Give at least two rea sons

cited in Chapter 2.

Chapter 3: Describe , in your own

words, how Kend all come s to be in

ancie nt Sky City.

Chapter 4: What happ ens a t the

end of Chap ter 4 that has Kend all

surprised and confused ? Name

two thing s.

Chapter 5: Describ e the differ -

ence s Ke ndall notices ab out the

Acoma n warr ior that tells Ken da ll

something strange is hap pe ning.

What do you think is happ ening?

Chapter 6: What clues a re the re

than Jen eu m trusts Ken da ll and will

help him? Give thre e examples

from the b ook.

Why do you think Ken da ll is ner v-

ous when the Spaniards say that

Kend all is taller and his eye s aredifferent than the others?

Chapter 7: Who is Tub aloth?

Describe Tuba loths appe arance .

Who do e s Tub aloth say Ken da ll is?

Chapter 8: How do you think

Ken da ll fee ls ab out Jen e um? How

do you know?

How would mar rying Jene um af-

fe ct the future of the Snake Clan?

Chapter 9: What doe s catching arattlesnake without be ing b itten

mean?

How do the other me mb ers of the

Snake Clan fe el ab out Ken da ll af-

ter he catches a rattlesnak e?

Chapter 10: Describ e in your

own word s the d e tails of the

Snake Ce remony.

From Je ne ums re actions to Ken d-all, what do you think b raiding

each othe rs hair means?

Chapter 11: Describ e in your

own words the p ros and cons of

Kend all going ba ck in time .

What are the fee ling s of conflict

Kend all is having b y b eing ther e?

What doe s bra iding e ach others

hair mean ?

What else d oes Kend all do to

show Jene um h is affec tion forher?

What events in the future d oes

Ken da ll know will hap pe n, b ut is

unsure of exactly when?

Chapter 12: If Kend all kn ows he

can save the Acomans b y sharing

what he knows ab out the Span-

iards and what the y will do , why

do you think he d oe snt tell them?

Chapter 13: Why do es one

womans de ath turn into a d ead lyb attle so q uickly?

Chapters 14 and 15: Make a list

of the advantag es in war each

side hasthe Acoma warr iors

and the Spaniards.

Pred ict how the war will en d.

What d o yo u think Ken da ll will

de cide to do? What would you do

if you were h im? Why?

Chapter 16: What are Ken da lls

reg re ts in this chapter? Name atleast two.

Chapter 17: What are the two

miracles from the God s that hap-

pe n in Chapter 17?

Ken da ll finds ou t his purp ose for

b eing in Acoma during this time.

Wha t is it?

Chapter 18: Wha t is the fate o f the

rema ining Acoman men, women,

and childre n? Do you think this

punishment b y the Spaniards is

fair? Why or why not?

Why d oe s Ken da ll tell Akish that he

must survive?

Why doe s Kend all fee l his da d ha s

be trayed him by marr ying Juanita

Lovato?

Chapter 19: Why doe s Kend all de -

cide to go home ? Give two rea-

sons.

Chapter 20: What happ en ed while

Kend all was gone ? What do youthink Ke nd all will te ll his family

about where he has b ee n and how

will his family r eact?

What are so me things that Ken da ll

has lear ne d ab out himself from this

experience?

Read the Authors Note then an -

swer these concluding q ues t ions :

How do you think the Spa nish justi-

fied the massacre and e nslavement

of the Acoma p eop le?

Which view is more often d ep icted

in historical texts? Why do you

think this is so?

If this were your cu ltura l heritage

(Acoma or Spanish), how would you

fee l about the nove l?

Group Discussion/ Journal Questions


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Re ad Native Ame rican p oe t, Joy Harjos p oe m I Give You Back (which is wid e ly

anthologize d). How doe s this po em re late to the e vents in The Last Snake Runner?

Which chara cters from the nove l would you mo st likely hear re p ea ting this poe m?

Write a journal resp onse to the poe m and the novel.

The Last Snake Runnerde als with a pa rticularly grim pe riod in the Americas. Whenyou le arn the truth about the atrocities that man ha s committed ag ainst ea ch other

(whether anc ient, or more re ce nt) how do you de al with the em otions it e vokes?

Write a journa l on this topic.

Social Studies/ Math

Curriculum Connections

Write a time line of the Ame ricas. Make sure that the p e riods are g iven e qua l sp ace .

Comp are the leng th of time b etwee n traditional cultures and the change s mad e b y Euro-

pe ans on it.

THE LAST SNAKE RUNNER P a g e 3

Teaching Tip:

Have the students pick a curriculum

connection idea that appeals to them as a

culminating project after reading the book.

Language Arts

Art

Music

Pottery and b aske ts rema in an imp ortant part of the Native Ame rican tradition. How are

the colors, textures, and de sign d iffer e nt from those mad e with Europe an or Asian

trad itions? Pulling from your own cultural heritag e , sculpt a use ful ob ject for your own

home and use de signs that reflect your own family history.

http:// www.indianhouse.com/snd b ts.html

Che ck out the we b site listed ab ove to hear Native music played. Then write a b rief

re action to it. Also, exp lore your own musical her itag e . Find a link to a site which fe a-

tures music your family likes. Comp are the two b y rhythm, instrumen tation and b ea t.


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Many pe ople have hea rd of the Cheroke e,

and the Sioux Tribe s. Few have ever stud-

ie d the Acoma, and the many other trib e s of

North Ame r ica. Rese arch a list of othe rtrib e s and then rese arch asp ects of their life

in a group of no more than five . Find out

ab out their music, architecture, trad itional

food s, art, and if possib le, their re lig ious b e -

lie fs. Be sure tha t sources come from Native

Ame ricans themse lves so they are authen-

tic. [Che ck out www.oyate.org for lists of

b ooks that de pict Native pe op le s accu-

rate ly.] The n, report your findings to yourclassmates.

Group Activity

Kimberley Griffiths Little is the recipient of the

Southwest Book Award and the author of three

children's novels which have received many

accolades. She grew up reading a book a day andscribbling stories while dreaming of seeing her

name in the card catalog one day. A native of San

Francisco, Kimberley now lives in a solar adobe

house along the banks of the Rio Grande with her

husband, a robotics engineer, and their three sons.

www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com

Book News, Author Visits, Activity Pages

Curriculum ConnectionsContinued...

Teaching Tip for Group Activity:

Have each student take an aspect of

the tribe to research and present. Each

group can make a poster of illustrations

or pictures showing the different part of

the tribes culture.

Teacher guide written by childrens author Tracie Vaughn Zimmer.Copyright 2002.

Visit her websit e at www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com.

Revised in 2009 by Kirsten J. Werk.

About the Author

Breakaway, Avon Books

Enchanted Runner, Avon Books

The Last Snake Runner, Knopf Books

The Healing Spell, July 1, 2010, Scholastic Press

The Traiteur's Daughter, Summer 2011, Scholastic PressSecret Rites of the Goddess, Fall 2011, Scholastic Press

Books by Kimberley Grif fi ths Litt le

Physical Education

Endurance is a b od ys ab ility to

pe rform over an e xtende d pe riod

of time. Ob viously, Kend all is in

pe ak pe rformance to b e able to

run such gre at distance s. Choose

an activity of your cho ice

(swimming, b iking , running, e tc.)

and work to b uild on your own en-

dur ance . Fill out the chart b e low

of your progre ss, and b e amazed

at how your streng th can grow ex-

pone ntially! Write a shor t journal

on the b ack ab out the results.

Activity: Time: Distance:

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Weekly Total:

P a g e 4 THE LAST SNAKE RUNNER

Documents

Last Snake Runner