Seashell

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) K, 1, 2, 3, 4, Homeschool/Family, Learning Pod, Library Patrons

 🐾 Topics

Language Arts/English, Literacy, Reading, Science, STEM

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to seashells, where learners share any observations they've made, things they wonder, and what they hope to learn about these animals.

• Segment 1 - Story Time: We read Next Time You See a Seashell together, with  opportunities for the learners to demonstrate their comprehension through interactive dialogue.

• Segment 2 - Invertebrate Investigation: After the story, we take a close-up look at live animals, including marine snails and clams. Then we jump into a fun learning segment that builds thinking skills, boosts reading and speaking confidence, and gets everyone curious about science. You’ll also get a chance to ask your own questions live.

• Segment 3 - Q&A Session: We conclude with an interactive Q&A session about mollusks, including the cephalopods, and deepen their understanding.

🎯 Objectives

1. Observe and describe the physical features of seashells and behaviors of mollusks.

2. Compare snails and clams to other mollusks such as octopus and squid.

3. Engage in a discussion about invertebrate adaptations and habitats.

4. Develop curiosity and confidence in asking science-related questions.

✏️ Standards this program supports

Common Core

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.1.RI.1 -- Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.2.RI.1 -- Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.3.RI.1 -- Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.4.RI.1 -- Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.K.RI.1 -- With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Next Generation Science Standards

• LS1A 3-5 -- Structure and function

• LS1B 3-5 -- Growth and development of organisms

• LS1C K-2 -- Organization for matter and energy flow in organisms

• LS3A K-2 -- Inheritance of traits

• LS4D K-2 -- Biodiversity and humans

Ocean Literacy Principles

• • Ocean Literacy Principle #5 – The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

  • Ocean Literacy Principle #6 – The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

UN SDGs

• • 14 - Life Below Water

Lexile Framework

• 810L

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.K.L.14.3 – Observe plants and animals, describe how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do. Application: Learners compare snails to other mollusks, noting similarities and differences in body parts and behaviors.

• SC.1.L.16.1 – Make observations that plants and animals closely resemble their parents, but variations exist among individuals within a population. Application: Learners observe seashell features and discuss how individuals may look similar but still vary in size, shape, or behavior.

• SC.2.L.17.1 – Compare and contrast the basic needs that all living things, including humans, have for survival. Application: Learners identify and compare the needs of snails and clams to those of other animals and humans.

• SC.2.L.17.2 – Recognize and explain that living things are found all over Earth, but each is only able to live in habitats that meet its basic needs. Application: Learners explore where different mollusks live (e.g., ocean, freshwater, land) and how their shells help them survive in those specific environments. 

• SC.3.L.15.1 – Classify animals into major groups based on physical characteristics and behaviors. Application: Learners learn that seashells are made by mollusks, which can be classified into groups such as gastropods (snails) and bivalves (clams).

• SC.4.L.17.2 – Explain that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the food source is passed to them. Application: Learners discuss how mollusks get their food (filter feeding or grazing) and how they fit into the marine food web.

• SC.4.L.17.4 – Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Application: Learners explore how collecting shells or polluting habitats can affect mollusks, and how people can help protect ocean animals and ecosystems.

☑️ Evaluation Link

When answering these questions, please focus on the quality of the content and not the technology. You can answer anonymously. After clicking Did the program take place?, choose if you are you an Educator or Parent.

• cilc.org/ContentProvider/Evaluation

• adaptation: A physical or behavioral trait that helps an organism survive and thrive in its environment, such as a mollusk’s shell for protection.

• bivalve: A type of mollusk with a shell composed of two hinged parts, such as clams, oysters, and mussels.

• calcium carbonate: The mineral substance that mollusks use to build their shells, providing strength and structure.

• camouflage: The ability of an organism to blend into its surroundings to hide from predators or ambush prey, often seen in mollusks like snails.

• conch: A large marine snail with a high, spiral shell, often found in warm, shallow waters.

• egg case: A protective capsule laid by some mollusks (like whelks and squids) that contains and shields their developing eggs.

• filter feeder: An animal that gets its food by straining tiny plants and animals from the water, like clams and scallops.

• gastropod: A class of mollusks, including snails and whelks, that typically have a single, coiled shell and a muscular foot for movement.

• hinge: The flexible, jointed area that connects the two halves of a bivalve shell and allows it to open and close.

• invertebrate: An animal without a backbone, which includes mollusks, jellyfish, and crabs.

• minerals: Natural substances found in the Earth or seawater, like calcium, that animals such as mollusks use to build their shells.

• mollusk: A soft-bodied invertebrate animal, often protected by a shell, such as snails, clams, and octopuses.

• octopus: A mollusk with eight arms, no external shell, and a soft body, known for intelligence and the ability to squeeze into small spaces.

• operculum: A hard plate that some snails use like a door to close off their shell opening for protection.

• predator: An animal that hunts and eats other animals. Some mollusks are predators, and some are prey.

• radula: A ribbon-like structure with tiny teeth found in some mollusks, used for scraping or cutting food before ingestion.

• scallop: A type of bivalve mollusk known for its fan-shaped shell and ability to swim by clapping its shells together.

• seashell: The hard, protective outer covering of certain mollusks, formed as the organism grows and made primarily of calcium carbonate.

• slug: A type of mollusk similar to a snail but without a shell or with only a small internal one.

• snail: A gastropod mollusk with a coiled shell, a muscular foot for movement, and a head with tentacles.

• squid: A fast-swimming mollusk with a soft body, tentacles, and an internal shell called a pen.

• univalve: A mollusk with a single, often spiral-shaped shell, such as snails and conchs.

• whelk: A marine snail with a spiral shell, often found in sandy or muddy coastal habitats.

Play Seashell Bingo:

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• emilymorganbooks.com

  • 📑 Science and Reading Activities

• Shape of Life: Molluscs

📚 Books & Publications

• Next Time You See a Seashell by Emily Morgan

• Octavia and Her Purple Ink Cloud

• Octopus or Squid? A Compare and Contrast Book

• What About an Octopus?  by Deborah Kerbel

🖥️ Videos

• Caribbean Reef Octopus in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory

• World Octopus Day

• ArtSea with Mote | Plastic Bottle Squid

• My Octopus Teacher