It only takes a little bit of snow to open up a world of wonder for children of all ages! Step outside and look down to see all the evidence of winter animal activity!
We received about an inch of snow late last week and the adventures have begun. From strolls down the street, to hikes in the woods, and even a meander across the ice, we have spotted animal tracks! Follow the tracks of any creature, big or small, and take a peek into the life on a local wild animal.
NH Fish & Game Track Card: http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_PDFs/Track_Card.pdf
Questions to light the fire of curiosity:
- What size animal do you think made this track? Why do you think it's big/small?
- Does it look like this animal was moving quickly or slowly? What makes you think that?
- Can you compare the tracks to the track card to find out which animal made these tracks?
- Where do you think this animal was going?
- Did this animal stop or change speed along its journey? What clues show you that?
- Where was this animal going?
- Compare tracks from two different animals. What's the same? What's different?
- Why do you think some tracks are far apart, while others are close together?
- Can you make tracks in the snow by walking? Can you make tracks in the snow by running? What's same/different about the two sets of tracks?
For even more ideas of ways to learn outdoors during these cold winter months, take a peek at this website: http://www.wildnewengland.org/EvenYear_Jan/index.html
Here's a great book for all ages to learn about animal behavior in anticipation for winter:http://www.myubam.com/ecommerce/details.asp?sid=F3370&gid=106854064&hid=HOS209341&title=Waiting+for+Winter&sqlwhere
We ventured out again today to do some tracking! There were some places that still had snow for tracking and we were successful. However, as with many times in teaching, I had to think on my feet. There were many places we hiked to without snow left, so we looked for other evidence of animal activity (empty acorn shells, pine cone pieces, places where the leaves were dug up, holes in trees, etc.).
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons why an activity like this is so timeless... This can be done with just about any age group, just about anywhere, and lends itself to a bunch more questions and curiosities.
Be on the lookout for the next lesson... Fallen Tree Mystery!
Love these conversation starters! Will definitely use them on our next walk in the woods. Here's an idea: once inside, the child/student could draw the animal that made the tracks OR the child could trace his/her foot on a piece of paper and cut it out.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I absolutely LOVE the follow up activity ideas!
ReplyDeleteI would like to extend on this activity by teaching about the different types of walking patterns (waddlers, bounders, etc.). I just found this cool website that would be great for working with older kids: http://www.ussartf.org/animal_tracking.htm
The book "What Do Animals Do In Winter? How Animals Survive the Cold" ties in nicely here and connects with the "Fallen Tree Mystery" lesson as well. (Good for beginning readers.)
ReplyDelete