Hi fellow teachers! Are you looking for a new bell ringer, time filler, or post-recess moment of calm and focus? Use the poem below as a fun and engaging poem read aloud or let the video version play while you tidy or prep!
“Save that Snail!” can also be used to complement or introduce lessons that fulfill K to Grade 2 curriculum goals, including animals and their habitats, human and animal interactions, animals in different provinces, reading and responding to poetry. See the teaching ideas below and grab your print-ready PDF or PPT slide deck to suit your teaching needs.
You have full permission to use the poem for teaching purposes within any educational setting, including online learning and homeschool.
Let me know if you use the poem – I’d love to hear how it goes.
Watch a video of the “Save that Snail!” poem below. This “Poetry Pause with Dr. Kim” version includes a short interactive mindfulness introduction before the poem:
“Look,” Jack said, “that snail might fall
into the muddy drain.
How can we help get him home
before it starts to rain?”
“What if,” Sam said, “we move him
with a tiny crane?
Or roll his shell on a bridge,
made from a daisy chain?”
“How about we fly him out
in a little plane?
Or build some tracks, pack his bags,
and put him on a train?”
“But,” Sam said, “we don’t want him
to feel any pain.
Let’s place him down, on those leaves,
until he’s safe again.”
Original poem by Kim T. Harrison. Video created in Canva.
Download a PDF, black & white, printable version of the poem:
Download a PPT slide version of the poem:
Teaching Ideas
- Visualization: Read the poem aloud for your students or play the YouTube video without visuals and ask students to draw one or more of the scenes or images from the poem.
- Creativity and construction: Students could make one or more of the ideas to save the snail out of blocks, card, or other classroom materials.
- Poetry writing: Students can create their own poem or story by changing the animal in the title. (For example, Save that Frog! Or Save that Worm!)
- Opinion questions: Is it a good idea to move a snail from the road to leaves? Do you sometimes try to save snails or other animals? Why or why not?
- Creativity and imagination: How would you save a snail? What other things could you make a snail bridge from? How would you make a train for snails?
- Environmental awareness & responsibility: Students can research or discover different types of snails and identify what the snail in the poem might be. You can ask students to think about why we might need to save some animals and what we can do to save them. You could also ask students about animals we shouldn’t approach or try to help, and what we can do if we see such an animal in need of help.
Happy Teaching! Kim x
