Animals Leave their Tracks
When you study nature it is often hard to get close to the animals you are studying but often they leave their tracks. Learning to recognize the tracks of the animals that live near you will let you know which ones are visiting you.
Animal tracks are are also clues to the animal's habits. They may tell you whether the animal flies, crawls, runs or hops.
Young children are fascinated by animals and you can use that interest to teach all across the curriculum. Put on your hiking boots and lets learn about animal tracks...
Animal tracks are are also clues to the animal's habits. They may tell you whether the animal flies, crawls, runs or hops.
Young children are fascinated by animals and you can use that interest to teach all across the curriculum. Put on your hiking boots and lets learn about animal tracks...
Animal Tracks Table of Contents
- Tracking During Winter
- Footprints in the Sand
- Whose Footprints?
- Animal Track Math
- Jim Arnosky's Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature's Footprints
- Animal Tracks Activities
- Solve the Animal Tracks Mystery
- Squirrel Tracks
- Identifying Animal Tracks in the Mud
- Animal Tracks Worksheets
- Magazines about Animals and Their Tracks
- Online Animal Tracks Quiz Game
- Animal Tracking Fashion
- Animal Tracks is in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
- Who's finding Animal Tracks?
- Let's Talk about Animal Tracks
- Meet the Author of this Animal Tracks Lens
Picture Books that Compare Animal Tracks
Animal Tracks in Picture Books
Big Tracks Little Tracks is one of my favorite books to read on a day that snow is beginning to fall. Gather the little ones around and help create excitement in an outdoor exploration to discover the animal neighbors that live near your home or school
Once the snow has stopped the animals will begin to scamper around. That is the time to go out and look for tracks. Be sure to bring a camera, measuring tape, clipboard and pen to record your findings.
Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1)
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 11/28/2009) 
Tracking During Winter
Gray wolves in the snow.
WDNR Photo
- Guidelines for Carnivore Tracking During Winter
- Information about the tools you will need, conducting your survey, data forms, when you encounter tracks, have been included. In addition, we have included answers to many frequently asked questions about the carnivore tracking program.
- Tracking a Porcupine in Winter
- Tracking a porcupine in the winter on snowshoes, we learn about this wonder forest animal
Footprints in the Sand
Animal Tracks at the Beach
Photo Credit: bird tracks on beach
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
You can see bird tracks when you walk along the sand. Notice how they have three toes pointing ahead and one behind.
If you see the tracks from songbirds near the bird feeder you may notice that two toes are ahead and two are behind. That is because songbirds are perching birds and need this configuration to better hold onto branches.
Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species
Amazon Price: $24.39 (as of 11/28/2009)
Animal Tracks Stamps
Stamping Animal Tracks
Children love to use Animal Tracks Stamps to help illustrate stories about the animals they are learning about and how they move through their habitat.
Notice how Jan Brett frames her pictures. Animal Tracks Stamps can be used to help children make borders for the illustration in their stories.
Animal Print Stamps
Stamping Animal Tracks
These naturalistic looking stamps would be great for adding borders to stories about animals. One day my daughter wrote a poem about what the Three Bears saw on their walk.
She typed her poem on the computer and then we mounted it on posterboard. To add interest to the frame we used bear print stamps around the boarder.
- Nasco Life/form® Animal Track Set
- Set of eight stamps includes: front and hind foot of beaver, front and hind hoof of deer, front and hind foot of raccoon, and front and hind foot of porcupine.
Whose Footprints?
Animal Tracks in the Snow
Photo Credit: Footprints in the Snow
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
A winter walk around the farm proves to be a joyful journey of discovery for a mother and daughter as they follow different sets of footprints to the animal responsible for them. Each encounter leads to another set of footprints, until finally the pair follow their own footprints home. There they find a new set leading up to the porch, with the creator--Daddy--waiting to welcome them back. The final pages show the family curled up by the fireplace as fresh snow falls outside. The cozy ending is a perfect conclusion to the simple, repetitive text. Engaging illustrations reveal a warm mother/daughter relationship, with cheery watercolors celebrating the bliss of a winter's day.
Whose Footprints?
Amazon Price: (as of 11/28/2009)
Tracks in the Snow
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 11/28/2009)
Animal Track Math
Measuring Animal Tracks
Each child:
1. Traces an animal track.
2. Write under each track the name of the animal that makes that track.
3. Measures the length and with of the tracks and records their answers.
- Video on How to Measure Tracks in Animal Tracking
- How to Measure Tracks in Animal Tracking. Part of the series: How to Track Animals. Animal tracking is a great skill to know. Learn how to measure the width and length of animal tracks using a tape measure in this instructional video.
Jim Arnosky's Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature's Footprints
With this guide children can learn to recognize and read animal tracks and gain more knowledge and understanding
Could you tell if The Big Bad Wolf has been visiting your neighborhood?
Finally there is a truly useful book for learning to identify animal tracks Thanks to a series of four fold-out pages the tracks are actually shown full size.
The Gray Wolf population is expanding it's range across the nation. They certainly have no desire to confront you; but knowing the difference between wolf, coyote and dog tracks will help you to know who has been visiting.
Jim Aronsky is an original and gifted artist as well as a naturalist. His books are a must for any bookshelf.
Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature's Footprints
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/28/2009)
Animal Tracks Activities
Following the tracks of wild animals helps you discover where they have been and possibly what they are eating.
When you are teaching about nature, going on a field trip or starting a new unit study you can't beat these books. Each one has activities that are easy to implement, fun for the children and guaranteed lead you to new understanding of the world around you.
When you are teaching about nature, going on a field trip or starting a new unit study you can't beat these books. Each one has activities that are easy to implement, fun for the children and guaranteed lead you to new understanding of the world around you.
Solve the Animal Tracks Mystery
What happened here?
Look at the pictures of animal tracks and see if you can discover what happened.
Animal Tracks Coloring Pages and Worksheets
Coloring Animal Tracks
- Northeast Woodlands Animal Tracks Game 1
- Draw a Line from the Animal to the Correct
- Northeast Woodlands Animal Tracks Game 2
- Draw a Line from the Animal to the Correct
- Northeast Woodlands Animal Tracks Game 3
- Draw a Line from the Animal to the Correct Footprint
- Animal Tracks Match Up Color Sheet
- Color the animals and match them to their tracks.
- Match the Animal Paw Prints
- Draw a line from the name of the animal to it's track.
- Where did raccoon get the carrot?
- Raccoon Coloring Book Pages - raccoons and fun
- from the Gable's Raccoon World - Animal Tracks Clues
- Can you discovered who went where from the tracks?
Animal Track Lesson Plans
Belt, Annie
Buy at AllPosters.com
More and more people are seeing animal tracks as big as bears and cougars on their back porches. What animals are coming to visit you?
- Animal Track Lessons
- An animal track is a mark left by a moving animal. You can find the path, route, or course of the animal by examining its track.
- Online Animal Tracks Concentration Game
- This page created and maintained by the Columbia River Fisheries Program Office
- Finding Animal Tracks
- An animal track is a mark left by a moving animal. You can find the path, route, or course of the animal by examining its track. Tracking is a technique that scientists and hunters use to find and follow animals.
- Animal Tracks - Classroom Activities from Teaching K-8
- 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...
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.
Identifying Animal Tracks in the Snow
This video is an excellent resource for learning what to look for when going an a walk in the winter woods or fields looking for Animal Tracks.
Identifying Animal Tracks in the Mud
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Animal Tracks Cards
Close observation of our surroundings is one of the biggest joys of being outdoors. And we humans--the naming animal--enjoy ourselves more when we know, or can find out, what we're observing.
A picture of a bird's or animal's footprints appears on one side of each card; the other side names the creature and presents its characteristics, footprint size, and diet, and notes on its natural history.
A picture of a bird's or animal's footprints appears on one side of each card; the other side names the creature and presents its characteristics, footprint size, and diet, and notes on its natural history.
ANIMAL AND BIRD TRACKS KNOWLEDGE CARDS
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 11/28/2009)
Animal Track Alphabet Cards
- Animal Tracks ABC Flash cards
- Recently we went hiking after it rained. There were plenty of animal tracks to see, and my son was really curious and fascinated about which animals made the different footprin...
- Learning As We Walk
- Using Animal Tracks Alphabet Cards to Homeschool. Owl pellet dissection too!
Animal Tracks Stamps and Games
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Animal Tracks Literacy Bag
Literacy Bags contain a couple of books, a stuffed animal, several activities and a journal to record your observations and activities.
My Animal Tracks Literacy Bag contains rubber stamps of animals, some white paper to represent snow and an ink pad.
The children take the bag home, read the stories with their families and make a scene showing where some animals encountered eachother.
They tell the story of the encounter in the journal and leave it for the next student. Then each of the following children can guess the story left for them and then check it against the story left in the journal.
Raccoon Tracks Tote Bag
Price: 17.99
Animal Tracks Worksheets
- Have You Seen These Animal Tracks? (short a)
- Have You Seen These Animal Tracks? Level 2.6-Short Vowels
Key Words:
cats
bobcats
rabbits
Write a prediction, read a story and answer the questions. Long list of short a words related to the animal tracks theme.
Magazines about Animals and Their Tracks
These magazines will have your children reading about animals and their tracks. I like to keep these magazines in a basket in the bathroom as an enticement to the children to pick up a book and read.
Online Animal Tracks Quiz Game
- EEK! - Cool Stuff - Track Quiz for Beginners
- If an animal were walking in the snow, would you know which animal left the tracks? Take the EEK! Tracks Quiz for beginners to begin learning about the different types of tracks.
Animal Tracking Fashion
Dressing to find Animal Tracks
These items of clothing will certainly catch your children's attention when doing a unit on animal tracks. In the spirit of Ms. Frizzle, how could you dress to show that you are studying animal tracks?
Find More Information on the Animals in Your Woods
Lenses about the Animals Whose Tracks you may Encounter
Bear Tracks in Havre DeGrace, Maryland and Wolf Tracks at Nogahabara Sand Dunes are pictures in the public domain from the USFWS Digital Library.
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River Otters: Playful Friends of the Woodlands!
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Learn about River Otters through games and hands-on learning centers. Decorate your classroom with a Woodlands Riverbank Theme. Learn the habits of River Otters, the food they eat and how they raise their young. You will find suggestions for both fi...
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Whitefoot the Wood Mouse: A Mouse Unit Study
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Whitefoot welcomes homeschoolers, teachers, parents and children to turn into mice, scurry through the tunnels and sniff out learning opportunities in every corner. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse welcomes everyone to his nest where learning never ends. He...
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Who Layed THAT Egg?
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Everyone knows that chickens lay eggs. Most people know that all other birds do as well but have you ever thought about all the other animals that lay eggs? Children may be surprised that some eggs do not contain birds. Other egg layers include frogs...
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Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
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How do you feel about Gray Wolves? What do you know about wolves in general? Do wolves really dress in Grandma's clothes and eat little girls? In the Wolf Unit Study you can learn about the anatomy of these fascinating canines, where they live, thei...
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Woodchucks Under the Porch
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Woodchucks chuck wood and Groundhogs determine the coming of spring. They eat your garden, dig holes under the porch but look adorable when they are first born and start to venture out of their dens. Watching the woodchuck babies venturing out from...
Animal Tracks is in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
Thank you to the Four Wheelers for including the Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? in their Online Unit Study Directory.
- Internet Directory of Unit Studies
- The Four Wheelers Internet Directory of Unit Studies contains a list, roughly arranged by subject, of links to unit studies that are published on the Internet.
Who's finding Animal Tracks?
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- TheUnderdawgz
- Watch "On the Run" New Pit Bulls and Parolees TONIGHT! 7pm, 10pm and 2am PT Animal Planet. The team tracks down a dog at a local park.
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- nrmcg
- Lake Waccamaw State Park rangers are about to lead visitors on a program on finding and casting animal tracks, at 3 pm.
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- mp3videolyrics
- Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind album: Release Date: 2009-12-15; Artist: Animal Collective; Tracks on the albu.. http://bit.ly/6ay2RU
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- 61sherylwnhg
- A field guide to animal tracks - Google Books Result http://tinyurl.com/yzrnn4s
automatically generated by Twitter
Let's Talk about Animal Tracks
Do you look for animal tracks? What animal's tracks do you see near your home?
submit
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- Jen Jen May 22, 2009 @ 2:55 pm
- Wow! So much wonderful information and resources! My husband is taking my girls for a nature walk today and they are going to be making molds of animal tracks. I printed out a sheet for them to guide them in their search. There are a lot of great activities and books that I can use as a follow-up to their time with Dad. Thanks a bunch! I'll put a link on my site to send readers your way.
Jen
http://raisingcreativeandcuriouskids.blogspot.com
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- CleanerLife CleanerLife May 2, 2009 @ 8:18 am
- Last year, after we rebuilt our deck, we were visited by some animals that left their muddy prints all over the deck, and furniture we have on the deck. We think they were raccoons, but I should have taken pictures so I could have figured out for sure.
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- EagleScoutMom EagleScoutMom Apr 22, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
- Great lens ! Next week at our Cub Scout Pack Meeting we will be using the theme "Dinosaur Pack" and making fossil prints with Plaster of Paris. We've done the same thing out in the woods while tracking - the kids love it! 5*****
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- marsha32 marsha32 Feb 26, 2009 @ 8:44 am
- I still really like this lens...you build very interesting ones and make learning fun.
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- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Feb 15, 2009 @ 8:56 am
- Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
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- DesignedbyLisa DesignedbyLisa Feb 9, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
- Welcome to the Winter and Snow Group!
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- MiaD MiaD Feb 4, 2009 @ 6:03 pm
- hehe, i'll ask mia to take a print of my foot too - ciupi, by the way she told me about your lens after discovering it on digg!
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- kellywissink kellywissink Jan 28, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
- As always, a pleasure to learn from your lenses! Welcome to the HomeSchool Support Group!
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- AndyPo AndyPo Jan 28, 2009 @ 6:00 am
- Great lens
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- marsha32 marsha32 Jan 27, 2009 @ 11:34 am
- this is quite interesting indeed. We do have opossums around, but otherwise we see a lot of our own cat tracks and neighborhood dogs lol
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- ArtByLinda ArtByLinda Jan 22, 2009 @ 1:37 pm
- Very informative, so many times you wonder whose tracks you are seeing while out walking.
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- Tipi Tipi Jan 22, 2009 @ 10:16 am
- I'm always impressed with your lenses when I visit. This is real fun one. Animal tracks are of interest to everyone! I love it!
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- Mortira Mortira Jan 13, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
- We used to cut our own firewood and a Christmas tree at a friend's farm every year. I loved going into the woods and looking for fresh tracks in the snow. I can't wait to do some of these activities with my son! * * * * *
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- sittonbull sittonbull Jan 8, 2009 @ 11:58 pm
- Great lens... I love trying to identify the animal tracks on my farm and figure their "sign" as it used to be called. What they were doing? How old the tracks are?, etc. 5* and favored.
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- AndyPo AndyPo Nov 26, 2008 @ 9:30 am
- Excellent lens. Its good fun for adults and kids.
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Sep 28, 2008 @ 9:20 am
- Excellent lesson. The younger the kids are when they learn about their environment the better. Exploring nature is both fascinating and fun
Keep up the good work.
Lizzy
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- Barkely Barkely Aug 27, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
- Wonderful as always, I've always been fascinated with animal tracks, since I was a child. I had a guide and used it to see who was leaving prints in the woods near our house.
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- WhitePineLane WhitePineLane Aug 25, 2008 @ 7:55 pm
- Another fabulous lens!
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- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Jun 1, 2008 @ 7:40 am
- I always wanted to do a unit on animal tracks when I was a teacher / school librarian. This is great. 5 *'s, a favorite and lensroll to Preserving LA Flora and Fauna and Naturally Native Creations.
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- mulberry mulberry May 31, 2008 @ 8:42 am
- Coyote, racoon, and deer. This is a great lesson when taking kids out! (or my "citified" spouse)
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- Eevee Eevee May 31, 2008 @ 5:47 am
- I love looking for Animal Tracks in the mud. One day I saw raccoon tracks.
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- Jimmie Jimmie May 31, 2008 @ 12:44 am
- Great job! :-) Fascinating topic.
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Meet the Author of this Animal Tracks Lens
Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog.If this lens inspired you come check out what else I'm up to:
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Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
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My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
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by Evelyn_Saenz
My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that lea... (more)
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