FOUNDATION STAGE
SNAIL TRAIL
TERM: 2ND HALF SPRING (MAY/APR)
OBJECTIVES
KEY SKILLS
By the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:
• Speaking and listening
• Name the parts of a snail
• Following instructions
• Fine motor
LINKS TO EYFS
DA 30-50, 40-60+
LCT 30-50, 40-60+
SSM 30-50
KU 30-50, 40-60+
PD 30-50, 40-60+
CD 30-50, 40-60+
LINKS TO FSP
DA 1, 2, 3, 5
LCT 1, 2, 3
NLC 1, 2, 3, 4
SSM 1, 3, 5, 7
KU 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
PD 1, 3, 5, 6, 7
CD 1, 3, 5
• Gross motor
• Extending vocabulary
• Observation
RESOURCES
• Photos of snails
• Photos of spirals in nature – flower petals, pine
cones
• Clear solid plastic/Perspex
• Flour
• Milk
• Scissors
• Paper
• Pencils
• Glue
• Glitter
• Tuff tray
• Shaving foam
• Finger paints
• Digital camera
KEY
Main activity
DApersonal, social and emotional development disposition and attitudes
• How does the snail move? They are most active on
cloudy days. The muscles in the foot contracts and
stretch. The trail of slime (mucus) from the front of
the foot helps them move over different surfaces
if it rough or uneven and is also used as suction to
help them stick.
SDpersonal, social and emotional development social development
EDpersonal, social and emotional development emotional development
LCTcommunication, language and
literacy - language for communication and
thinking
• Put the snail on the Perspex and watch from
underneath.
• Can they copy the movement?
LSLcommunication, language and literacy - linking
sounds and letters
• How do snails eat? What do they eat? (Mainly
plants, fruit and vegetables).
Rcommunication, language and
literacy - reading
• Put a drop of milk on the Perspex, the snail will be
attracted by it. If you put a small trail of flour on
the Perspex the snail will eat it (if you watch from
underneath you will see its mouth open and close
but won’t able to see its thousands of very tiny teeth
on its rough tongue which it uses to grind up food).
Wcommunication, language and
literacy - writing
NLCproblem solving, reasoning and numeracy numbers as labels
for counting
Cproblem solving, reasoning and numeracy calculating
SSMproblem solving, reasoning and numeracy shape, space and measure
KUknowledge and understanding
of the world
PD physical development
CD creative development
WHAT TO DO
Introductory activity
• Look at a snail. It is part of the mollusc family like
oysters and clams and is a gastropod.
They usually live 5 to 10 years.
• What do we call the different parts of it?
• Why does it hide in its shell? Protection from
predators and to stop body drying up in
hot weather.
Secondary activities
•W
hat pattern can we see on the shell? Draw and cut
out spirals to hang as mobiles.
Follow on
•M
ake random snail trails with glue and glitter on
paper. Works best on a dark colour.
•A
lso make trails in shaving foam in trays or using
finger paints and make a copy by pressing a sheet of
paper on top.