Snails Are Just My Speed! Lesson Activity

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Maureen Schlosser

Snails Are Just My Speed Summary

Do you have the book Snails Are Just My Speed! by Kevin McCloskey in your collection? If not, I highly recommend getting a few copies. Learners and educators are going to love this book. As the stamp on the left-hand corner of the cover implies, you’ll hear giggles while reading this Toon Book. The presentation of information is quite remarkable. My favorite page is an infographic of sorts that shows different animals moving as if they are in a race. A fly is in the lead, while a snail hitches a ride with a tortoise in last place. Each animal tells how much faster they are than the animal directly behind them. Math mixes with science to engage readers on this double-page spread. The illustration may inspire learners to design a pictograph with this format.

What page is your favorite? Please share in the comment box below.

Snails Are Just My Speed! Lesson Activity

AASL Standards Framework For Learners: Inquire/Think I.A.1 Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.

Draw a large snail on chart paper. See directions at the end of Snails Are Just My Speed! by Kevin McCloskey.
Ask learners what they wonder about snails. Direct them to write their questions on sticky notes and place them on the chart paper. Read the questions to the whole group.
Ask the following questions as you read the book:
- What can we expect from this book? (cover)
- Here the author compares a snail to a camper. How are they the same? How are they different? What questions do you have about snail’s shells? (pg. 1)
- Here the author points out how fast animals are in a fascinating way. What do you notice about how he shares this information? (pgs. 2-3)
- What questions do you have about predators? (pgs. 4-5)
- What questions do you have about mucus? (pgs. 8-9)
- How does mucus help snails? (pgs. 10-15)
- Here the author compares the mucus of a snail to that of a person. What is different? What is the same? (pg. 16)
- What questions do you have about farming snails? (pg. 18)
- What do you notice about where snails live? (pgs. 20-21)
- The author is comparing snails to different objects. What is the same? What is different? (pgs. 22-23)
- Why do you think the author used the title “Map of a Snail” for this page? (pg. 24)
- What information can you gather from the illustration of a snail reading an eye chart? (pg. 25)
Ask learners to turn and talk with their neighbor about a fun fact they learned from the book.
Tell learners that they will draw a snail and illustrate what they learned from the story. They can use any text feature they want to share information. Some may want to find a picture of a snail using Photos for Class (an AASL Best Website for Teaching and Learning). They can upload the picture to an app like SeeSaw (an AASL Best App for Teaching and Learning) to add text bubbles and labels.