Holt’s Elements of Literature, First Course, Grade 7 is our English text for 7th grade, the first selection being Rudyard Kipling’s "Rikki-tikki-tavi". After introducing the theme of the chapter, "Out Here on my Own: Facing Challenges", we will listen to the story and do various activities provided with the Holt material.

In the lesson material, we will pay specific attention to "conflict", as suggested in the plan, and also to "point of view" (another of our essential standards). In addition we will consider "genre" as the type of writing this is as compared to the science material and the other stories.

Besides looking at the story of “Rikki-tikki-tavi” that is in the literature book, we will contrast the point of view and variation on the theme with stories from the Himalayas, including a short story from the Simla region of India, a Jataka story from Tibet, and other anecdotal material about the naga from both Hinduism and Buddhism. The students will select one of the stories to illustrate in fold-out page format (scroll down to find the instructions. This link can also be a useful model in the science report portion of this lesson).

In adapting the Jataka and Simla stories, I have simplified the language and added numbers to discrete sections to assist my students in navigating, for reading, responses, and recall.

The Jataka stories comprise over 500 stories that provide lessons in moral ideas and behavior for both young and old.

Here is another story that I will read to the students if there is time: http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/resources/jataka/Serpent.html

The Serpent King