Snail Races!!!

Another "Amazing Creature" that our students have been studying is the Land Snail.  For the past 2 week students they have learned about the snail body parts, diet, behavior, and even checked out some cool videos on Utube!  Here, I opened up the lesson with this whole group labeling activity.  Students then verified the answers by passing around snails in clear cups and observing the actual snail up close.  Finally, I asked the students to transfer their learning onto a blank labeling sheet (see document below).

The next activity was to get ready for the SNAIL RACES by making posters for our snail teams,...of course.  The criteria for the poster was that students had to draw all of the body parts along with some words of encouragement.  The students loved this part.  I loved this part,...it was so sweet.

Then (you're going to get a kick out of step), the students decided that they wanted to give their snails a "pep talk!"  Yes, they each wanted to spend a few seconds with their team's snail and explain to it what they wanted it to do.  Of course, I rolled with it and allowed them to do the pep talk.  It was SO hard not to laugh out loud while this was going on.  Again, it was so sweet.

And they're off!!!

Our science lessons take place in our school's Science Lab.

We had six teams, one for each table group.  As you can see I simply put a colored sticker with the table number on each snail's shell.  I projected the track onto the big screen so that everyone could see the action.  We continued the race until every snail made it across the finish line, so that each team had something to feel proud about.  
Science rocks!



(Lesson is based on FOSS Animals Two By Two)

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