Unit Planner: Snails

PreK 4
Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 3:11PM
Elementary School > 2019-2020 > PreK 4 > Early Childhood > PreK 4 Last Updated: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 by
(M) > Week 3 - Week 18
Kyleigh Pharris

Snails
Bystrom, Madeleine; Chavers, Callie; Pharris, Kyleigh

• Unit Planner
• Lesson Planner

Stage 1: Desired Results

Aims and Objectives
DC: Early Learning Standards (2008)
DC: 3-4 Year Olds
Approaches to Learning (AL)
Domain 1: Approaches to Learning
Standard 1.0 Children exhibit curiosity, the ability to engage in and complete task, flexibility in solving
problems, engaging in purposeful play, following direction, and both independence and interdependence.
AL.1.1 Children demonstrate curiosity and a willingness to learn.

AL.1.4 Children engage in purposeful play.

AL.1.5 Children demonstrate self-direction and independence.

AL.1.6 Children will follow directions and demonstrate interdependence.

Social and Emotional Domain (SED)

Domain 2: Social and Emotional Development (SED)
Standard 2.0: Children become confident and competent with a sense of self and can take responsibility for
self and others.
SED. 2.2 Children develop increasing capacity for self-control.
Language and Literacy (LL)
Domain 3: Language and Literacy
Standard 3.0: Children communicate ideas and feelings, establish and maintain relationships with adults and
other children through the literacy skills involved in I-Listening and Speaking, II -Reading, and III-Writing.
I. LISTENING AND SPEAKING
LL.3.I.3 Children ask questions for a variety of purposes and answer questions of peers and adults.
LL.3.I.4 Children acquire and use increasingly rich vocabulary and language for a variety of purposes (receptive and
expressive vocabulary).
LL.3.I.5 Children participate in conversations.
II. READING
LL.3.II.1 Children understand and value books and other print materials.
LL.3.II.2 Children demonstrate knowledge of and appreciation for books.
III. WRITING
LL.3.III.1 Children understand the purposes of writing.
LL.3.III.2 Children use emergent writing skills to make letters and words in many settings and for many purposes.
Mathematical Thinking (MT)
Domain 4: Mathematical Thinking (MT)
Standard 4.0: Children make sense of the world around them and understand the physical world through
mathematics experiences involving number concepts, patterns, functions, and Algebra, measurement,
geometry and spatial sense, and data analysis and probability.
NUMBER CONCEPTS
MT.4.1 Children demonstrate a beginning understanding of number and operations and how they relate to one
another.
PATTERNS, FUNCTIONS, AND ALGEBRA
MT.4.2 Children demonstrate a beginning understanding of patterns and use mathematical representations to
describe patterns.
MEASUREMENT
MT.4.3 Children use a variety of non-standard and standard tools to measure and use appropriate language terms to
describe size, length, weight, and volume.
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
Domain 5: Scientific Inquiry
Standard 5.0: Children learn science by exploring the world around them as they try out things to see how
they work, experiment, manipulate objects, use their senses and scientific tools to observe, collect and
interpret data, and draw conclusions.
SI.5.1 Children develop inquiry and process skills.
Life Science
SI.5.3 Children will develop an understanding of living things (plants and animals) and what they need to survive.
Earth Science
SI.5.4 Children develop an understanding of the Earth and the natural environment.
Social Studies (SS)
Domain 6: Social Studies
Standard 6.0: Children learn social studies by forming relationships, learning to communicate, and exploring
the world around them through the study of people, jobs, landmarks and cultures of the surrounding
community.
SS.6.1 Children demonstrate a sense of self within the context of family.
SS.6.2 Children demonstrate an understanding of self within the context of community.
Creative Arts (CA)
Domain 7: Creative Arts
Standard 7.0: Children demonstrate imagination, creativity and invention through the study of the arts in
ways that reflect their unique learning styles and views of the world.
CA.7.1 Children move their bodies with increasing skill to express emotions and rhythms.
Art
CA.7.3 Children explore and gain increasing control over a variety of art media, using them to express their ideas.
Physical Dev, Health & Safety (PHS)
Fine Motor
PHS.8.2 Children apply hand, finger, and wrist movements in ways that demonstrate increasing eye-hand
coordination, strength, and control.
Health and Safety
PHS.8.4 Children practice behaviors that promote their health and safety.
© 2015 District of Columbia Public Schools
Transfer (optional)
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
Meaning
Understandings
Students will understand that....
Children will gain a deeper understanding of
themselves within the context of a community through
their interest of snails. By caring for living things, the
children are strengthening their understanding of
collaboration with others, what living things need to
survive, and expressing their thinking utilizing a multiple
of languages (the Hundred Languages of Children).
Acquisition
Knowledge
Students will know…
Approaches to Learning
- Uses adult as resources to answer questions, clarify
information, demonstrate tasks
- Explore the variety of rich objects and materials
provided to discover how things work, what things do,
and why things happen.
- Make and interpret representations.
- Selects from a variety of choices and come up with
own ideas of how to use materials constructively
- Values the contributions of others to accomplish a
task, and talk about the qualities we value in a person's
character such as honesty, courage, courtesy,
willingness to work hard, kindness, fairness,
trustworthiness, self-discipline, loyalty, and personal
responsibility
Social-Emotional
- Recognize, describe and express emotions such as
happiness, surprise, anger, fear, and sadness, needs,
and opinions appropriately
- Demonstrate ability to cope with frustration and
disappointment, talk about ways to solve or prevent
problems and discuss situations that illustrate that
actions have consequences
- Recognize the feelings and rights of others and
respond appropriately
- Play cooperatively with other children
Language and Literacy
- Integrate new vocabulary into conversations with
peers and adults
- Ask questions to acquire new vocabulary
- Use complete and increasingly complex sentences
Essential Questions
How can snails help form a classroom community?
How can snails build relationships amongst young
children and adults?
How can an interest of snails influence and strengthen
children's overall development?
Skills
Students will be able to...
Approaches to Learning
- Makes statements about snails and then questions to
learn more.
- Draws a picture of snails and asks for help to write the
work snail.
- Arranges snails in home to create family
- Suggests a new way to make the snail home or play
with snails to others
- Accepts suggestions from another person when
working with snails
Social-Emotional
- Carefully moves body when handling snails to treat
them with care
- Cooperatively plays with snails and other children
- Uses words to solve conflicts
Language and Literacy
- Writes "SNL" to represent the word snail in book
created
- Writes signs to inform others about the snail tank care
and routines
- Writes and draws to convey meaning to others about
snails
- Asks questions about non-fiction books read about
snails
- Gathers information about snails from reading books
- Carefully turns the pages of books
- Begins identifying books that are for information and
pleasure
- Begins to understand concepts of print
- Asks questions to clarify information
- Engage in back-and-forth discussions about a topic
with peers and adults
- Initiate and/or extend conversations with peers and
adults, using multiple exchanges
- Initiate reading behaviors
- Treat books with care
- Write to convey meaning
- Begin to make letter-sound connections
- Use letters to represent an entire work; use letter
strings to represent phrases and sentences
Mathematical Thinking
- Sort and classify objects by more than one attribute
(color, shape, size, number, etc.)
- Recognize, describe, and copy simple patterns.
- Use one-to-one correspondence.
- Count with understanding to at least 10.
- Use numbers to tell how many (number quantity).
- Use non-standard and standard units to measure
length, weight, and amount of content in familiar objects
and to obtain information.
- Identify appropriate tools for measurement.
- Show awareness of time concepts.
Scientific Inquiry
- Asks questions, make predictions, and test their
predictions.
- Observe and describe cause and effect.
- Identify and use tools appropriately to explore and
investigate.
- Collect, organize, and record information.
- Discuss and draw conclusions and form
generalizations.
- Communicate observations and findings through a
variety of methods.
- Observe and describe changes in plants, animals, and
insects as they go through predictable life cycles, and
habitats.
- Observe and identify the characteristics and needs of
living things: humans, animals, and plants.
- Observe and describe the natural world around them.
Social Studies
- Identify family members and recognize that families
vary.
- Recognize the roles within the home.
- Describe or represent their home and other homes in
their neighborhood
- Participate in group goals and planning.
- Describe how people affect their environment in
negative (e.g. litter, pollution) and positive ways (
recycling, planting trees).
Creative Arts
- Participate in guided movement activities.
- Gain ability to use a variety of media (paint, play
dough, clay, etc.)
- Progress in abilities ti create drawings, paintings, and
models that are more detailed, organized, controlled,
and/or realistic.
- Strengthening vocabulary of life science and
mathematical thinking to describe thoughts
- Talks with a friend and/or teacher to share own ideas
and listen to another perspective about snails
Mathematical Thinking
- Sorts loose parts materials by color and size when
creating a snail spiral
- Recognize, describe, and copy simple patterns found
on snail shells
- Notices the patterns of a snails shell and the
differences between shells
- Noticing in the morning many snails are on sidewalks
but mid-day they are not
- Uses a ruler to measure the height of a snail's shell
- Counts how many snails are found
- Uses numbers to share how many snails are in the
classroom tank
Scientific Inquiry
- Explains to a friend their understandings of snails
- Uses magnifying glasses to look more carefully at
snails
- Draws a picture of snails found outside and/or in the
habitat created
- Cares for the snails by providing food and water as
needed and by helping to clean the tank
- Observes snails on nature walks and makes
comments about observations
- Notices similarities and differences between snails
Social Studies
- Role play with snails to create family structures.
- Discuss differences in families with other children.
- Negotiate with peers what the snail family roles will
look like.
- Discussions on how humans can affect the
environment positively to help the snails live happy
lives.
Creative Arts
- Creating representations of snails using clay, wire,
paint, colored pencils, markers, oil pastels.
- Moving their bodies as snails do.
Physical, Health, and Safety
- Children create detailed representational drawings,
paintings, sculptures that require small-muscle strength
and control.
- Using writing tools with a pincer grip.
- Understand the importance of washing hands before
and after playing with snails. Not spreading human
germs to snails, and not spreading snail germs to
humans.
Physical, Health, and Safety
- Perform fine motor tasks that require small-muscle
strength and control.
- Use eye-hand coordination to perform fine motor
tasks.
- Use a pincer grip to grasp and manipulate writing,
drawing, and painting tools.
- Perform basic hygiene and self-help tasks with
increasing skill.
- Be aware of and follow health and safety rules.
Stage 2: Evidence
Formative Assessments Summative Assessments
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Stage 3: Learning Plan
Learning Activities
Observing Snails

• The science discovery space was designed to allow children to observe the snails within their own comfort
zone. Children could look at the snails or pick them up. After handling the snails, children gently placed
them back into their home and washed their hands.
• This space was a favorite of the children's and they would be eager to observe the snails multiple times a
day to gain a deeper understanding of them.

Creating a Snail Home

• The children created a variety of snail homes that stayed at the discovery space. The homes had to be
cleaned regularly and the children took ownership in cleaning the homes for the snails.
• Through books and videos, children learned what a snail habitat looks like. They learned that snails need to
burrow in dirt along with fresh green leaves. The children added sticks for the snails to climb and
"exercise".
• Mr. Tor visited our class to explain what snails enjoy in their home to the children.

Preparing Food for Snails

• The children learned through books and videos that snails enjoy eating vegetables.
• The children collected fresh green leaves from the playground to feed the snails.
• The children cut carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce to feed the snails.
• The children collected vegetables not eaten during snack or lunch to feed the snails.
Observational Drawings of Snails

• The children carefully observed and explored the snails and drew their findings.
• The children used black pens to draw the details of the snails first and then added color using watercolor
paints, oil pastels, markers, colored pencils.

Writing Books about Snails

• The children began writing books about snails, understanding that books are a way to share your thinking
with others.
• Writing 'SNL' when listening to the sounds within the word 'snail'.
• Writing fiction stories of the snails partaking in everyday life tasks (going to school, brushing its teeth, etc.)

Reading to Snails

• The children would gather books from the library and read to the snails.
• Reading to the snails was another way for the children to connect with the snails.

Making Slime Paths

• Laying black paper on the table and watching the snails move across the paper. This creates a slime path
that is visible for the children to see.
• The children then used glue and glitter to create their own slime paths at art.

Snail Shells

• The children carefully looked at different snail shells to notice any patterns and/or details.
• Children looked at real snail shells and images of snail shells.
• The snail shell images were printed largely so the children could use loose part materials to create the
design patterns of the shell.
• This exploration of snail shells resulted in the children creating their own large snail shells with loose parts
and drawing spirals on the table with dry-erase markers.

Snail Races

• Creating a start and finish line on a table or floor for the snail races
• Place two or more snails at the starting line and wait to see which snail crosses the finish line first.

Nature Walks to Observe Snails

• Walking around the school campus to locate snails

• Children begin to identify which areas of the campus have the most snails and which have the least
• Children observed which areas have the most snail deaths (bicycle/walking paths) on the campus
• Identify which areas create the best habitats for snails

Cause and Effect

• Noticing that when the soil is wet snails climb out of the dirt vs. when soil is dry snails burrow
• Noticing that when snails have water sprayed on them they hide in their shells vs. when water is sprayed on
the table/tank snails continue to move
• Noticing that when it is dry season there are not many snails outside vs. when it is rainy season there are
many snails outside

Creating Snail Hotels

 • After noticing there are some spaces on campus that snails are in danger (bicycle/walking paths) the
children wanted to create snail hotels for people to bring the snails and keep them out of harms way.
• Gathering coconuts
• Asking facilities to help cut the coconut husks to make a doorway
• Using the snail hotels to create villages for the snails in small world play

Resources

• Mr. Tor the science IA.

• Grade level PLT meetings
• Curriculum and Practice meetings
• Elizabeth Library and ECRC books about snails
• Snail World website
• Louise Bourgeois Spiral Art
• Youtube Videos
o Snails Move
o 11 Cool facts about snails
o Giant African Land Snail
o Snail Eating
o Snail Pooping

Curriculum Map_Snails
Curriculum Map_Spirals

Language-Development Focus
Principles of Phoenix
Reflections on the Unit
This investigation of snails was incredible to watch unfold. The children's interest in snails consumed the classroom
and drove the curriculum focus for many months. I did not necessarily expect this investigation to last from August
to December. This investigation helped the children in strengthening their relationships with others within the
classroom. As the school year progressed, the children's interest in snails seemed to have faded (January-
February). It seemed as if the children had forgotten about the snails. However, when a rain storm came in early
March the snails had come out of hibernation and began to walk around our home and school communities again.
This then brought the children's interest back to snails all over again!

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