A Snail Packs Its House
A snail has a shell on its back. The shell is its house.
A snail is slow. It slides on one soft foot. It leaves a wet trail.
If it is scared, the snail pulls in. It hides inside the shell. Now it is safe.
A Snail Packs Its House
Kindergarten nonfiction passage about snails and shells: 45 words, five questions, an answer key and vocabulary.
Questions
Where is the snail's shell? in the text
What does the snail leave behind? in the text
Is a snail fast or slow? in the text
Where does the snail hide? in the text
Why is the shell like a house? think about it
Words to know
- snail
- a small, slow animal with a shell
- shell
- the hard cover on a snail's back
- trail
- a line that something leaves behind
- safe
- not in danger
Share
One passage, three levels
The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.
● Easier · 36 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.8
A snail has a shell. The shell is its house.
A snail is slow. It has one soft foot. It leaves a wet trail.
If it is scared, it hides in the shell. It is safe.
▲ This passage · 45 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade -1.3
A snail has a shell on its back. The shell is its house.
A snail is slow. It slides on one soft foot. It leaves a wet trail.
If it is scared, the snail pulls in. It hides inside the shell. Now it is safe.
■ Harder · 62 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.1
A snail carries a hard shell on its back, and the shell is like a little house that goes wherever the snail goes.
A snail moves very slowly. It glides along on one soft foot and leaves a wet, shiny trail behind it.
When the snail feels scared, it pulls its body inside the shell and hides there. Now it is safe.
How to use it
- Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
- Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
- Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.
Ideas for class
- Before reading, put snail, shell, trail and safe on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
- Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes under a minute to read aloud.
- Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
- Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
- Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
- Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.
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- Readability checker
- Reading fluency timer
Questions
What reading level is "A Snail Packs Its House"?
It was written for Kindergarten. It has 45 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about below 1. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.
What do the questions ask?
There are five. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.
How long does it take to read?
Under a minute read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.
Can I print it?
Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.
Is this passage from a published book?
No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.
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