s by most gardeners because they feast on the crops. Gardeners are likely to use salt as a line of defense against the slug, pouring a line of salt all the way around the perimeter of the garden. Salt can harm slugs, it literally looks like they melt in front of your eyes, so they will not cross the line. Slugs are creatures of habit, following the same paths, so the salt line needs to be repeated for at least a week.
Learn tons about snails- Snail Animal Study & Lapbook
I Spy - Mollusk Observations
I Spy Octopi and Squids
Take a trip to your local aquarium, be sure to take a pencil and notepad with you. Spend a great deal of time observing the octopuses. Here are some questions to help you on your way:
1. What are they doing?
2. Did you see them eat?
3. How many are in the tank together?
4. Do you see how
long the webbing is? If you did see the octopus eat, did you notice how the
webbing helped it catch food?
local aquarium have squids? If so, follow steps 1-4 listed under octopus. If
not, then feel free to let your student be artistic and draw/color a squid from
I Spy Slugs & Snails
This is backyard nature at its best! Go outside after a cool rain for the best chances of finding slugs! You can also look under leaf debris, rocks and logs. I let my girls use tabbed index cards detailing the exploration (What did I do? What did I find? Where did I find it? Also, any other information the want to include. Maybe, a simple sketch of the slug/snail in it’s environment!) and add them to the lapbook.
NF indicates non-fiction; F indicates fiction.
Octopus by Lynn M. Stone. F. ISBN- 9781595154408
Gentle Giant Octopus by Karen Wallace. F. ISBN- 9780763617301
by Patricia Lauber. F. ISBN- 9780064451574
Squirting Squids by Natalie Lunis. F. ISBN- 9781597165136
Octopuses and Squids by Mary Jo Rhodes. NF. ISBN- 9780516253503
The Snail and The Whale by Julia Donaldson. F. ISBN- 9780803729223
Snails by Peter Murray. NF. ISBN- 9781592966509
The Adventures of Snail at School by John Stadler. F. ISBN- 9780064442022
Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards. F. ISBN- 9780064435024
Slugs by Anthony D Fredericks. NF. ISBN- 9780822530411
You Tube Videos
There are several examples of the intelligence and wonderous behaviors of the octopus online. I found quite a few videos through You Tube. My favorite links are below. Please don’t scroll through the comments as some are very rated R, and be sure to preview the videos before showing to your students.
1. Octopus escaping through a 1 inch hole
2. Wild Chronicles
3. Showing Camouflage
Paper Mache Octopus
This is messy, but so much fun!
Flour and water
pan and a stirrer
Green tempera paint
Green crepe paper streamers
TADA! (You can also make a squid paper mache by using the long ‘clown’ balloons instead of the round one used above.)
Slug and Snail Art
Have your child
use air hardening clay to mold a slug and a snail. After the artwork has dried
according to the package directions, have the child add an artistic flair!
Take pictures of your crafts and post them on one of these frames or on this octopus frame. Cut out and add to your lapbook!