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Lesson: Exploring Organisms & The Environment (Snails)
Grade Level:
K
Content Area:
Life Science
Core Area:
Exploring Organisms and the Environment
Lesson Overview:
Students will investigate snails. They will recognize that organisms have basic
needs. They will see that animals have different structures that serve different functions in growth
and survival. They will learn new vocabulary associated with snails. They will observe interactions of
animals with their surroundings.
2005 Standards Correlation
Grade K Characteristics of Organisms
Standard K-2: The students will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of
organisms. (Life Science)
Indicators
K-2.1 Recognize what organisms need to stay alive (including air, water, food, and shelter).
K-2.2 Identify examples of organisms and nonliving things.
K-2.4 Compare individual examples of a particular type of plant or animal to determine that
there are differences among individuals.
2014 Standards Correlation
Grade K Life Science: Exploring Organisms and the Environment
Standard K.L.2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of organisms found in the
environment and how these organisms depend on the environment to meet those needs.
K.L.2.A. Conceptual Understanding: The environment consists of many types of organisms
including plants, animals, and fungi. Organisms depend on the land, water, and air to live and grow.
Plants need water and light to make their own food. Fungi and animals cannot make their own food
and get energy from other sources. Animals (including humans) use different body parts to obtain
food and other resources needed to grow and survive. Organisms live in areas where their needs for
air, water, nutrients, and shelter are met.
Performance Indicators: Students who demonstrate this understanding can:
K.L.2A.1 Obtain information to answer questions about different organisms found in the
environment (such as plants, animals, or fungi).
K.L.2A.3 Develop and use models to exemplify how animals use their body parts to (1) obtain food
and other resources, (2) protect themselves, and (3) move from place to place.
K.L.2A.5 Construct explanations from observations of what animals need to survive and grow
(including air, water, nutrients, and shelter)
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Materials:
FOSS Kit: Animals 2 x 2
Terrarium
Clear plastic cups
Cardboard barriers
Snail Race Track
Magnifying Glasses
Land snails (one for each student is ideal)
Book: The Snail’s Spell by Joanne Ryder
Lettuce, plant leaves, apple slices, oranges slices
Other objects to be used as barriers: wooden blocks, Legos, pencils, markers, etc.
Rulers
One-minute timer
Chart paper, white board, or Smart Board (needs to be saved for several days)
Snails PowerPoint and LCD projector
Procedures:
1. Introduction- Snail Riddle: “I’m thinking of an animal that has no legs, but travels on a foot. The
animal has a house that it always carries around on its back. It moves very slowly and creates a
slippery trail of slime as it goes. This animal lays eggs. The house on the animal’s back is in a
spiral shape. You can sometimes find this animal in your backyard after a rainy evening in the
spring and summer. What is it?”
Show students the land snails in the terrarium. Invite them to gather around and observe the
snails for a few minutes. Talk about how the snails move, what they are doing, etc.
2. Make a bubble map. Ask each student to tell you one thing he or she already knows about snails.
Write each response on the map, even if the statement is incorrect.
3. Give each student (or pair of students) a clear plastic cup and a snail. Remind students that snails
are living things and should be handled with care. Encourage students to touch or hold the
snails. Those who prefer not to can observe the snail in the cup. Let the students observe the
snails for about 15 minutes. Collect the snails and return them to the terrarium.
4. Tell the students: “Later this week, we are going to have a snail race! How can we get the snails
to move towards the finish line?” They should suggest food. Ask, “If we are going to use food,
how can we find out a snail’s favorite food?” Ask the students to design an experiment to find
out (test different foods). You can have students vote for their top 4 or 5 choices and bring
those foods in the next day to complete the experiment. Make sure lettuce is one of the choices!
Once students have discovered the snail’s favorite food, have students observe the mouth of the
snail while it is eating. (This is best seen by leaving the snail and the lettuce in the cup.)
Encourage students to also watch how the snail moves along on its foot.
5. Read the book, “The Snail’s Spell” to the students. This book teaches all about the structure and
movement of the snail. Show students the “Snails” power point to introduce new vocabulary.
6. Draw a simple sketch of a snail on the board and have students help you label all of the parts.
Have students make their own sketches and label their snails in a science journal or on a piece of
paper. Be sure to include the following: snail, foot, shell, tentacles, eyes, mouth. It might be
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helpful for students to have a snail to observe while they are drawing. These can be displayed in
the classroom.
7. Snail barriers - The children will need various objects to use as barriers and snails for this
activity. (Cardboard barriers can be found in the FOSS kit) Objects can be anything such as
pencils, toilet paper tubes, blocks, Legos, toys, markers, etc. Have the children place a snail
beside the barrier they chose and see if the snail will climb over it, go around it, or go away from
it. They can exchange objects as time permits to see if their snail reacts differently to different
objects. They can also build barriers taller if the snail is able to cross the original barrier.
8. Snail Races - You will need snail racetracks from the FOSS kit, snails, and lettuce for this
activity. It’s best to run “heats” of 4-6 snails at a time. Have students place competitors in the
middle of the track and cheer on their snails as they try to get them to the outer ring of the track.
If you want, you can place winning snails aside and have all the winning snails compete for the
“grand prize.”
9. Ask students how far they think a snail can move in one minute. How can we find out? Lead
children to conclude that we can use a ruler to measure how far a snail moves in one minute.
First, have students make predictions on how far the snail will move. Show them the tool you
will use to measure and have them guess how far it will go. You can record these guesses on the
board or on a chart. Choose a snail that seems to be “awake” for this activity. You will also need
a ruler, a timer, and a piece of lettuce. Place the snail at the “0” mark on the ruler, but beside the
ruler on a table. Gather the children around so that everyone can see. Have one student “coax”
the snail to move down the length of the ruler with the lettuce. After one minute, record how far
the snail moved. As time permits, you can repeat this activity with other snails to see if some
move farther than others (put the snails in cups labeled A, B, C, D, etc. to differentiate between
the snails).
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7E Procedures for Snails Lesson:
7E
Engage
Procedures
Riddle: Can you guess the animal we will be studying?
Elicit
Make a bubble map. Ask each student to tell you one
thing he or she already knows about snails. Write each
response on the map, even if the statement is
incorrect.
1. Students will observe snails in clear plastic cups
with magnifying glasses. They will watch how
snails move and react to the environment.
2. Have students discuss how they will get a snail to
move in a Snail Race. Lead them to discover that
they can use food to get snails to move. Have
them design an experiment to determine a snail’s
favorite food.
3. Draw a simple sketch of a snail on the board and
have students help you label all of the parts. Have
students draw their own snail sketch and label the
main parts.
Read the book, “The Snail’s Spell” to the students.
This book teaches all about the structure and
movement of the snail. Show students the “Snails”
power point to introduce new vocabulary.
Explore
Explain
SEPs
CCCs
Elaborate 1. Snail barriers - The children will create and present
barriers to see how the snail reacts to the barrier.
2. Have students watch snails race from the middle of
a track (FOSS kit) to the outer circle. Students can
coax their snails using lettuce.
3. Students will conduct an experiment to see how far
a snail can move in one minute.
Evaluate Revisit the Bubble Map made earlier. Read each
statement and correct any that are incorrect. Have
students add new facts that they have learned from
the activities.
Extend
Observe Snail Trails – have students dip snails in
colored water and let them crawl across white paper.
Compare Snails to Slugs
Use Shells (FOSS kit) for addition, patterns, counting.
Divide shells into sets.
Compare land snails to water snails (These can often
be purchased at stores that sell fish.)
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Post Activities and Interdisciplinary Connections:
Vocabulary
gastropod
mucous
mucous trail
tentacles
extend
retract
spiral
invertebrate
Science
1. Show students pictures of a slug (or bring in a live specimen if you can). Ask them to compare
the slug to the snails they have been studying. Make a double bubble map comparing and
contrasting the two creatures.
2. Compare land snails to water snails. Check with your local pet store to see if they sell small water
snails (some will give them to you for free). Give each student a water snail in a small vial of
water. Have them observe and compare the water snail to the land snails they have studied.
Capture their comparisons on a double bubble map.
Mathematics
1. Use shells (FOSS kit) to make patterns.
2. Let children use shells to complete simple addition or subtraction problems.
3. Have children divide the shells into different sets. Have them explain how and why they
grouped the shells as they did.
4. Put shells in order from smallest to largest.
Language Arts
1. Have children write a book about snails.
2. Read snail poems to children (many can be found online).
3. Read snail books to children:
Are You a Snail? by Judy Allen ISBN # 0753452421
The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni ISBN# 0394827406
How Many Snails? A Counting Book by Paul Giganti ISBN# 0688136397
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson ISBN# 0803729227
The Snail House by Allan Ahlberg ISBN# 0763607118
Snail Trail by Ruth Brown ISBN# 0375806962
Snailology (Backyard Buddies) by Michael Elsohn Ross ISBN # 157505437X
The Snail’s Spell by Joanne Ryder ISBN# 0140508910
Snails and Slugs (Nature Close-Up) by Elaine Pascoe ISBN# 1567111815
Turtles and Snails (First Discovery Books) by Gallimard Jeunesse ISBN# 0590117645
Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement by Susan Hightower
ISBN# 0689804520
Art
1. Give each student a clear plastic cup half full of water with drops of food coloring, a sheet of
plain white paper, and a snail. Have the student dip the foot of the snail in the colored water and
place the snail on the paper. The snail will leave behind a colored trail! The student can dip the
snail again when the trail becomes clear.
2. Create spiral snails using clay, pipe cleaners, paper
3. Make signs for the Snail Race
4. Make a map of the schoolyard
5. Design a Snail Trail Maze
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