Learning About Footprints

Snowy Footprints
Science/Poetry/Art Use the fun poem below to introduce animal tracks to your students. Then go outside and make animal and kid tracks in the snow. Or, create them in the classroom in clay using chenille sticks to make little squirrel tracks; students can create dog tracks using their thumbs. Also mention that January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Maybe you could plan to leave a pile of nuts outside the classroom window for our furry friends.

Squirrel Tracks

by Marie Cecchini

Chitter, chatter,
Scold, scold
Gray squirrels scoot,
Through winter's cold.

Over ice,
Over snow,
Leaving footprints
As they go.

The Footprint
The Footprint is a story about siblings working together to solve a mystery. When Angie and Jared find a strange footprint dried in the mud, they can't decide what creature could have been there. Their imaginations race as they pore over the many library resources on dinosaurs and birds. They are surprised to find out that their pesky little brother was behind it all along.

Animal Tracks – What Do They Reveal?
Students will use a variety of methods to observe, collect, document, classify, and summarize data on animal tracks.

Making Tracks
Students will form a hypothesis from observation and discussion of animal tracks to determine what animals were involved and what the situation was at the scene by identifying the animal footprints. Students will be able to relate animal foot structure to the task the animal performs.