Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.homeschoolshare.com

Snails Animal Study & Lapbook
Created by Wende

                                                              

Library List:

The Slug Who Thought He Was a Snail by Penny Pollock (early chapter book)

The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni (picture book)

The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia (pg. 136)
Are You a Snail?  by Judy Allen

Lapbook Components –

 Cover

If you don't have any snails in your area, you can purchase some land snails--
Land Snails
Land Snail Habitat Kit

Research
 

Kinds of snails –

There are thousands of kinds of snails, including those that live in saltwater, freshwater, and on land, and those with and without shells. This unit focuses on freshwater and land snails and slugs. To learn more about saltwater snails, you may enjoy Pagoo by Holling C. Holling, and/or House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle.

Classification –

Kingdom – Animal (Invertebrates)

The animal kingdom is divided into two groups, vertebrates and invertebrates. The largest group, the invertebrates, has no backbones. Most invertebrates have hard exo-skeletons, which protect the animals like armor. Invertebrates are broken down into different groups including arthropods (insects, spiders, crustaceans), echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins) and mollusks (snails, slugs, oysters, octopuses).

Phylum – Mollusca

Mollusks are soft-bodied animals without internal skeletons. Many have shells, called exo-skeletons, which protect the animals like armor, and a muscular foot.  The animals have muscles that attach to the shell. There are many different mollusks, including octopuses, chitons, snails, and slugs.

Class – Gastropoda

Mollusks are broken down into five groups, one being the gastropods. The word Gastropod comes from the Greek roots “gastros” meaning stomach, and “podos” meaning foot. Gastropods have a single, coiled shell, with the exception of the slug that has none. There are approximately 80,000 gastropods in the world, some living in the sea and breathing with gills, and some living in ponds or on land breathing with lungs.

Order – Pulmonata

The Gastropods are broken down into different orders, one being the pulmonates. Pulmonates are snails and slugs that live on land or in fresh water and breath air through lungs.

Record Classification information on Graduated Cards and store in pocket.

Land Snails –

The most common land snail is the garden snail. The scientific name for the garden snail is Helix aspersa. They have two pairs of tentacles, also called feelers, with the largest ones bearing eyes on the ends. The tentacles carry sense organs that help the animal find its way around. Land snails withdraw into their shells when water is scarce and become dormant. They can exist this way for many years. In cold climates the garden snails hibernate during the winter. Snails live 5 to 10 years, and have even lived as long as 15 years. Write about Garden Snails in Matchbook.

Literature Connection – Read The Snail and the Rosebush by Hans Christian Anderson. Store in lapbook using pocket.

Pond Snails–

Freshwater snails are also referred to as pond snails. Pond snails have one pair of tentacles, with the eyes at the base. Fresh water snails live in ponds, rivers, and creeks. While a few pond snails have gills and will swim at the bottom of the pond, most have lungs and live near the surface where they can come up for air. Pond snails are often purchased to put in freshwater aquariums to eat the algae that build up on the glass. Write about Pond Snails in Matchbook.

Slugs –

Slugs are brown to grayish in color, up to 2” long, and look like a snail without a shell. Eggs are laid in jellylike masses under debris in damp areas. They live a year or more and are slow to develop. Like other snails, they need moisture to stay alive, and are therefore nocturnal, going into the ground or hiding under debris when the hot sun is out. Write about Slugs in Matchbook.

Literature Connection – read The Slug Who Thought He Was a Snail by Penny Pollock. Discuss the differences and similarities between slugs and snails.

Using

Garden Snail and Pond Snail Venn, compare and contrast Garden Snails and Pond Snails, or using Pulmonates Tri-Venn compare and contrast Garden Snails, Pond Snails, and Slugs.

Habitat –

A habitat is the place that plants and animals live, with everything they need to function and survive. A habitat will include food, water, and shelter. There are many different habitats throughout the world, including desert, prairie, rainforest, woodlands, pond, etc. What kind of habitat do snails and slugs need? Pulmonates need moisture. Without it they will shrivel up and die. So snails and slugs like cool, damp places such as ponds, gardens, wetlands, and woods. They also need a place that has much foliage, where dead leaves and debris will fall to the ground for them to eat off of. In ponds, snails will eat algae, and decomposed plants and even animals. Snails and slugs do not live in dry, plant-free areas. Describe a pulmonates habitat in Habitat Collapsed Triangle.

Respiration -

Garden snails and slugs, as well as most pond snails, have small cavities called “lungs”. The lung has a small opening that is used as the breathing hole. They take in oxygen through this breathing hole, and pass the waste gas, carbon dioxide, back out another hole. The snails and slugs must keep this lung cavity moist. Complete Snail Respiratory System Flap Book.

Digestion –

The digestive system is the animal’s system concerning food. Snails pull food into their mouths with a radula, which is like a file with many small teeth. It moves backwards and forwards, rasping away at food. The teeth gradually become broken and worn, and are constantly replaced with new teeth. The scrapings are then swallowed and pass into the stomach. Enzymes, made by the liver, break down the food particles in the stomach. The liver is connected to the stomach by tubes. The body then absorbs the products of digestion, and the waste matter is moved further along through the intestines and out of the body through the anus. Complete Snail Digestion Flap Book.

Reproduction –

Most pulmonates are both male and female, meaning that they have the reproductive organs of each. Sometimes a snail will act like a male, going after the female part of another snail, and sometimes it will act like a female. Because most snails and slugs have both reproductive organs, they can even reproduce with themselves.  Animals that have both male and female organs like this are called hermaphroditic. After the eggs are fertilized, a land snail will bury them in topsoil, while a pond snail will attach them to something solid, like a rock, covered with a jelly. The eggs will hatch in 2-4 weeks, bearing small snails. There isn’t any larva stage of snails or slugs. They go from adult snail to egg to baby snail to young snail to adult snail. A snail can lay eggs once a month. Complete Snail Life Cycle Fold.

Slime! –

All snails and slugs need moisture to keep their bodies damp. The reason that some snails and slugs can survive on land is because they can create their own moisture. Have you ever watched the slimy trail a land snail or slug leaves behind as it moves forward? Have you ever picked up a slug, and get your hand covered with slime that was hard to wash off? These pulmonates create their own slimy mucous. One of the biggest dangers to pulmonates is drying out. If they get dry, they will shrivel up and die. This slimy mucous they make helps to keep their bodies moist and protected from the dry terrain they cross. It also helps them glide more smoothly, even across sharp objects, without hurting themselves. If the weather gets too dry, snails and slugs can cover themselves with the slimy mucous and “rest” until rains come again. Pulmonates use this slimy mucous for protection from predators, too. No animal wants a mouthful of gooey slime! Complete Why Snails and Slugs Slime lapbook component.

Literature Connection – read The Snail and the Mirror by Aesop. Have child narrate in lapbook component and glue in lapbook.

Enemies of the Garden –

Snails and slugs will wreak havoc on the garden. They chew plants down in layers, leaving behind hole filled, browning vegetation. As we discussed before, slugs and snails feed at night, so it is rare to see the critters, just the damage and slimy trails they leave behind. Their favorite meals are young seedlings and transplants, especially the tender leaf growth of peas, lettuce, and other greens, and hostas and other perennials. These healthy plants can vanish overnight, due to the attack of hungry pulmonates. There are many ways to prevent slugs and snails from destroying your garden. If the infestation is small, you can just hand pick and dispose of the critters. For larger infestations, you can use organic means to rid your garden of these enemies. They include the use of iron phosphate, which causes snails and slugs to stop feeding and die within 3-6 days. For years, organic farmers have been using shallow dishes of beer to lure and then drown slugs. Other organic farmers sprinkle a bit of salt on the snails and slugs, which sucks the moisture out of their bodies. A sprinkling of coal or wood ash around the base of plants will make it difficult to get to the plants, as it dries out their bodies, which they don’t like. There are many chemical methods to rid your garden of these pests, too, but unfortunately these chemicals may also kill insects such as ladybugs and bumble bees that are good for your garden. List methods of ridding your garden of snails in No Snails! Simple Fold.

Enemies of the Snail and Slug –

Animals that attack and eat other animals are called predators. The animal that gets eaten is called the prey. There are a few predators that look at slugs and snails as prey. Many fish will eat the pond varieties of pulmonates, as well as other snails. And some birds, such as the Song Thrush, will bang the shells against rocks, and eat the meat. Beetles, toads, snakes and turtles are also snail enemies. Pulmonates will protect themselves by excreting a slimy mucous, which the predators find distasteful. Did you know that humans are also predators of snails? People in many parts of Europe consider snails to be a delicacy. There are even restaurants that have special snail gardens, where they feed and plump the Escargot, before they cook and serve them. Complete Snail Enemies Wheel.

Snail Shells –

Snails have shells to protect them. The shells are made of calcium and grow as the snail grows. Snails do not change shells. If a shell cracks, it can repair it. Snail shells are all different shapes and sizes. Some are spiraled, while others are round or flat. Most snail shells open to the right (dextral), but a couple of species open to the left (sinistral). Most are colored yellows, browns, and greens.  If you look closely at the whorls of the shell, you can see lines of growth. Complete Shell Facts Shape Book.

Literature Connection – read The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni.

Misc. –

Some new words encountered throughout this unit are included in Vocabulary Tab Book.

Younger children that don’t want to complete multiple lapbook components could complete Snail Fact Graduated Book.

Have child write a story about a snail using Story Starter:

Story Starter Option 1 – primary lines

Story Starter Option 1 – regular lines

Story Starter Option 2 – primary lines

Story Starter Option 2 – regular lines

Tunnel (to store story in)

Snails and slugs are often used in literature to describe a slow, lazy person. Print and use this mini book as desired.

            The Three Sluggards by the Brothers Grimm (1812)

If you like to include cursive copywork exercises in your lapbooks, here is a booklet featuring an early 20^th century poem about a snail.

Miscellaneous Links:

Snail Craft Ideas

Snail Worksheets and Coloring Pages