Our Snail Inquiry

Throughout the month of September, every time we went outside to our outdoor learning environments the students were always in search of finding snails. It all began when we went into our school's Eco Garden to look at the various plants that had been growing over the summer. One of the student's found a snail hiding on the underside of a big leaf.

Watching the snail come out and slither around.

This child was so enthralled to see it come out of its shell, he wanted to show all the other students. Many of them were interested to watch what the snail did next.








As the students continued to look for and find more snails, we decided that it would be ok to bring a few back into the classroom to observe further. We had several discussions about the importance of both creating a natural habitat for the snails while they are inside our classroom as well as the importance of releasing them back into nature as soon as we were done with our inquiry.

Creating a habitat for the snails.

The students took pride in helping to create the habitat. I bought a clear glass bowl for easy viewing and a strainer for the top so the snails could still get fresh air while not escaping outside of the bowl. The habitat was placed on a low table where the students could go observe and draw what they were seeing.

Looking closely and drawing what we see.

As time went on, a group of students began asking questions and wondering a little deeper about the snails and their life.

Creating habitats at the Loose Parts centre for the snails.

We did some research on both the internet and in books. The students were keen to draw pictures of this learning and write the information in order to create their own class book about snails.

watching the snail as he hangs upside down.

Drawing pictures and writing about what
 we learned.

This was a great learning experience for the students. They were engaged in literacy skills while reading and writing about the snails. They were also engaged in mathematical skills while creating snails with patterns at our Loose Parts centre.

Our Snail Inquiry station.