Transcript The Sound of a Wild Snail in the Biology Classroom

The Sound of a Wild Snail in the
Biology Classroom
Ryan Bromwell
Science Department
[email protected]
Overview of the ‘Snail Project’
Book Title
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Players
 Me
 Advanced Honors Biology 9th graders
 Semester long project
 Expanded to Migratory Book Project in its 2nd year
 Author collaboration
Components
 Individual Reading assignments
 Reflection questions collected via Google Drive (formerly Google Docs)
 Classroom discussion
 Skype with the Author
 Coming soon! – Migratory Book Project
Origin of the Project
(or Why Did I Pick a Book About a Snail!?)
 Be careful what you listen to
on NPR!
 Personal enjoyment –
translates into classroom
enthusiasm
 Filled a void – vehicle to
achieve a particular objective
So What Is This Book About?
In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature,
Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a
Neohelix albolabris – a common woodland snail.
While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up
residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of
wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding
of her own confined space in the world.
Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making,
hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute
and amused observer, offering a candid and engaging look into the curious life of
this underappreciated small animal.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience,
showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own
Existence and provides an appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.
Acclaim for the Book
(Apparently Other People Are Reading Books
About Snails Too)
Book Awards
William Saroyan International Prize for Nonfiction 2012
John Burroughs Medal Award 2001 for Distinguished Natural History
National Outdoor Book Award for 2010 in Natural History Literature
Selected Book Lists
Great Titles to add to the New York Times Best of 2010 Lists – The
Huffington Post
Top Ten Science & Technology Books for 2010 – BOOKLIST by the
American Library Association
Memoirs That Will Last: Collection Department – Library Journal, 2013
Worldwide Editions
Initial Objectives
(…because things always change)
 Appreciation for the natural world
 Develop observational skills
 Foster an understanding of the connections
that humans innately have with the natural
world
Student Reading Assignments
 Concurrent with the curriculum but not necessarily
integrated.
 Weeklong assignments – roughly 25 pages
 Students expected to respond to questions posed on
Google Drive survey or to complete the activities
provided.
Student Reflection
(or How I Figured Out if the Students Actual Read and What
Were They Thinking?)
Google Drive Survey Tools
 Online Surveys
Oh, But It Got More Involved!
Each set of reflection
questions/ activities built
upon the theme of each
particular part of the book.
JFK - Adolescent Observation Times
Online Survey – Part 2
MEAN – just under 13 minutes
MEDIAN – 12.5 minutes
MAX – 27 minutes
MIN – 7 minutes
Interesting Responses…
(The Ordinary)
"This is my brother reading a book in his room
1. He would always make a noise with his mouth while
reading, whether humming or making a popping noise.
2. He would spin in his chair a lot, but then would suddenly
stop, as if he reached an interesting part.
3. He would either scratch his neck or run his fingers through
his hair a lot.
4. He would check his watch often, as if to check how long
he had been reading.
5. Whenever he heard a noise, he would look at his closet,
not at the door."
Interesting Responses…
(The Special Occasion)
"At the wedding:
• One guy kept taking pictures with the cap on
• The people that kept going to the bar were really red
at the end of the night
• The Junior bridesmaid kept taking her shoes off then
putting them back on
• My brother kept taking mints
• My brother kept putting salt in my dad's water"
Interesting Responses
(The Enlightened Observer)
"I observed people on a bus ride. One person was blowing pink bubble
gum, but not only that, he was blowing a bubble inside a bubble. The
bubble popped and left sticky residue on his face. Also, I saw one kid with
his shiny, black phone in his hands. He was playing Doodle Jump and had a
score of 13,355. I also observed that half the people on the bus were
listening to iPods, but also half these people were asleep which I wouldn't
have realized if I had not been paying close attention. I looked at an
upperclassman's tie which was green and yellow. I hadn't realized that the
tie had lacrosse sticks on it until I gave it second look. Finally on my way off
the school bus, I saw a kid fall. What really happened was a middle-schooler
stuck his foot out and tried to trip him on purpose. I realized this because
the kid that tripped him started to giggle soon after."
Other Integrated Topics..
(or Where a Trade Book Can Easily Take You That A
Textbook Might Not)
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Bioengineering – i.e. the kingfisher and the bullet train
Fractals, Logarithms, and the Fibonacci sequence
Latin – and why learning it helps you in science
Your five senses
Empathy vs. Sympathy
Animal Reproduction – the weird, bizarre, and outright
‘ouch!’
Meeting the Author

40 minute Skype session
 Students brainstormed, narrowed, and finalized questions
to ask of Ms. Bailey
 Selected book reading
 2nd year – Discussed the Migratory Book Project
Sampling of Student Questions
Natural World
 Do you respect bugs more now that you
have connected with the snail?
 Do you still keep snails at home as of now?
 What is your favorite characteristic of the
snail?
Health
 Did the doctors ever diagnose you officially
with a disease?
 How are you feeling now? Will you ever be
able to at least come close to fully
functioning again?
 Writing
• Why did you decide to write this book?
• Did you ever want to stop writing about the
snail?
• you as the snail?
Sampling of Student Questions
Perspective
 Do you feel completely caught up to the world yet or do
you still feel as if you’re still getting back into the swing of
things?
 How much time do you spend in nature quietly relaxing
every day?
 Do you wish you had not gotten the disease?
 How would you compare your relationship to the snail
with a relationship that we might experience in everyday
life?
 Would you change anything in your past if you had the
chance?
New Directions
(So You Just Leave the Book There?)
 Migratory Book Project
 Premise
 What if you left this book in public for anyone to take,
read, and pass on?
 What would happen?
 Who would read it?
 Would the experiment work?
Essential Questions
(or So What Do You Want to Know About People and
a Book About Snails?)
 Focused on two main questions:
 How do books move through society?
 What about this book is relevant to readers?
Essential Answers
(It’s a Science Class – Students Have to Make
Hypotheses?)
How do books move through society?
 Where a book is placed will influence whether it is
read and who will read it.
 Person to person transfer will be more effective than
simply leaving it in public.
 Estimated project will last 9 months at maximum
with only 15% of books in circulation for this duration.
Essential Answers
(It’s a Science Class – Students Have to Make
Hypotheses?)
 What about this book is relevant to readers?
 Book will appeal most to people who are elderly or
infirm or who share the similar demographics as the
author (female, middle-aged, married)
 People who do not like the book, will stop reading
and may not complete the on-line survey thus
skewing results.
 Girls will prefer over boys
 Unemployed, retired, or ‘empty nesters’ will prefer
What’s Next?
 Launch – September 2013
 35 students
 Survey Tool – Using Google Drive to collect voluntary
data
 Next wave to be launched in Winter 2014
Would You Like to Use the ‘Snail
Book’ Too?
To receive a complimentary desk copy of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
for curriculum consideration contact:
Michael Rockliff
Director, School & Library Sales and Marketing
Workman Publishing Company (Algonquin Books)
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-4381
212-614-7572
1-800-722-7202 x 7572
[email protected]
Also, Ms. Bailey is available via e-mail contact from her website
www.elisabethtovabailey.com