Mississippi Science ZOO.3.4

ScienceGrades 9–12Zoology I and II

The Standard

ZOO.3: Students will understand the structure and function of phylum Mollusca, and how they adapt to their environments.

Describe how the radula is used in feeding.

2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Phylum Mollusca

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how a snail moves its tooth-covered radula across a surface to scrape off food. They describe how the loosened food enters the mouth.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a diagram of a feeding snail, students can identify the radula and describe its scraping motion. They can explain why a clam filters food instead of using a radula.
Common Misconceptions: Some students think the radula tastes food like a human tongue or chews it like jaws. Others assume clams have radulas, though clams filter food from water.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: A snail feeds on algae growing on a rock. Explain what its radula does and where the scraped algae goes.

Lesson moves

Spread a thin layer of modeling clay on a tile, then drag a comb across it to model a radula scraping algae.
Ask students to write two sentences explaining why a snail can scrape algae from a rock but a clam feeds by filtering water.
Give pairs snail, slug, and clam cards to sort by feeding method, then have them explain each choice.
Show a photo of algae on aquarium glass and ask students to predict how a snail removes it with its radula.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to ZOO.3.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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