Talk About It! Compare and Contrast.
Read the two texts below, then talk with your reading partner about how the texts are similar and how they are different.
Count ways the texts are similar and different.
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Snail Facts
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Snails and slugs are part of the mollusk family and are related to oysters, clams, and other shellfish. Both have soft bodies, but snail bodies are usually protected with a hard shell.
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A slug is like a snail without a shell. Slugs and snails both leave a slime trail of mucus on the surfaces on which they crawl.
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Both snails and slugs have mouths used to eat holes in leaves. They damage plants by eating the leaves and tender shoots, attacking almost all field and garden crops. This can result in large losses to farmers, home gardeners, and greenhouse operators. Some of their favorite foods are ripe strawberries and tomatoes.
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Snails can often be found under damp and decaying things like logs, leaves, rock piles and junk piles. They also like to hide under boardwalks, wooden bridges and other damp structures.
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World of Snails
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Snail species live all over the world. Snails can be split into three groups, land snails, sea snails and freshwater snails. Snails can have either lungs or gills, depending on their habitat and species. Snail-like creatures without a shell are usually called slugs.
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As snails travel along, they leave behind a trail of mucus which acts as a lubricant to reduce surface friction. This mucus allows the snail to travel upside down.
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The common garden snail is a pest because it eats leaves and stems and destroys crops. Most snail species have a tongue called a radula that has thousands of tiny teeth. A snail’s radula works like sandpaper or a file, rasping its food into tiny pieces.
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Snails can be eaten by humans. Snail meat is usually roasted or fried. In French cooking, snail is served as a special treat called “escargot.”
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