Last Snake Runner
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Transcript of 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