A snail moving on a branch
Vadim Fedotov/Shutterstock.com (Night Sky); Chongsiri Chaitongngam/Shutterstock.com (Snail)
Poetry,

Snail at Moonrise

A poem describes the nocturnal life of a snail

By Joyce Sidman
From the December 2019 / January 2020 Issue

Learning Objective: In this poem, students will analyze descriptive language while learning about the nighttime activities of a land snail.

Featured Skill: Science Connection, Knowledge Building,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, R.2, R.4, R.5, SL.1, L.4, L.5
  • Grade 4
    R.4.1, R.4.2, R.4.4, R.4.5, SL.4.1, L.4.4, L.4.5
  • Grade 5
    R.5.1, R.5.2, R.5.4, R.5.5, SL.5.1, L.5.4, L.5.5
  • Grade 6
    R.6.1, R.6.2, R.6.4, R.6.5, SL.6.1, L.6.4, L.6.5
TEKS Standards
  • Grade 4
    4.3a, b; 4.4; 4.6a, d, f, h; 4.7, c, d, g; 4.8a, d; 4.9b; 4.10c, d
  • Grade 5
    5.3a, b; 5.4; 5.6a, d, f, h; 5.7c, d, g; 5.8a, d; 5.9b; 5.10c, d
  • Grade 6
    6.2a, b; 6.3; 6.5a, d, f, h; 6.6c, d, g; 6.7a, d; 6.8b; 6.9c, d

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UP CLOSE

Science Connection

What does this poem tell you about the body and habits of a snail? Think about this as you read. 

Each night, Snail

unhooks himself from earth,

climbs a slick trail of silver

up, up

the horizon of log,

up stems of leaves

to their dewy tips,

seeking

with his tiny sandpaper tongue

morsels of green

to mix in his dark, moist body

and spin

into whorls of light.


Shell-maker

Moon-maker

gleaming silver-bright.

Each night:

darkness

into

light.


From DARK EMPEROR AND OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT by Joyce Sidman. Text copyright © 2010 by Joyce Sidman.

Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.

This poem was originally published in the December 2019/January 2020 issue.


Audio ()
Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Audio ()
Activities (2) Download All Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras

Snails come in all shapes and sizes—and this snail is HUGE! Wow your students with this informational video on the gigantic African Land Snail.

Before reading this poem, build student’s knowledge about its slimy subject with this DKfindout webpage on snails. 

Looking for a relaxing video to play in the background while studying this poem? Check out this 2-hour video of incredible high-quality snail footage.

More About the Story

Skills

Vocabulary, fluency, interpreting text, figurative language

Complexity Factors

Levels of Meaning

By comparing a snail to the moon, the poem helps the reader to see what is special about snails.

Structure

The poem has two stanzas and an irregular rhyme scheme.

Language

The language is mainly simple but includes the words horizon and whorls. 

Knowledge Demands 

No prior knowledge required; some helpful information is provided on the page.

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Background Information

The land snail is mainly nocturnal so its moist body doesn’t dry out in the sun. It moves by producing a mucus that helps it glide along (even upside down!), leaving behind a shiny slime trail. Using its ribbonlike tongue, which is covered with thousands of extremely tiny teeth, the snail rips up leaves and other plants into small, easy-to-eat pieces. The snail protects itself by creating a lovely spiraled shell to hide inside.

1. Preparing to Read (10 minutes)

  • Ask students to share what they know about snails. Use the background information above to correct or extend that knowledge.
  • Have them read the title and study the picture. Ask: What do the moon and the snail’s shell have in common? (They’re both round and glowing.)
  • Invite a student to read aloud the Up Close box.
  • Preview the annotations in yellow.
  • Point out the words horizon, morsels, and whorls and go over their meanings.

2. Reading the Poem (5 minutes)

Invite a student to read the poem aloud for the class or play our audio version.

3. Discussing the Poem (10 minutes)

Discuss the following questions:

  • In your own words, describe what the snail is doing in the first 10 lines of the poem. (interpreting text) The snail is climbing up a log, then onto a leaf in order to eat it. It uses its slime—“a slick trail of silver”—to move. Its “sandpaper tongue” made up of many tiny teeth cuts the leaf into “morsels of green.”
  • Read the note about how snails make shells. How do lines 10-13 explain how a snail is a “Shellmaker”? (interpreting text) These lines use figurative language to describe the process of how snails create their shells: turning what they eat (“morsels of green”) into a bright spiraled shell (“whorls of light”).

4. Skill Building (15 minutes)

Download our Poetry Kit, which will take your students on a deep dive into the poem!

Text-to-Speech