Activity

Animal prints

Summary
Make animal footprints in playdough or modelling clay, or look at print-outs of life-size animal prints.
Science content
Biology: Features, Adaptations of Living Things (K, 1, 3, 7)
Science competencies (+ questioning + manipulation + others that are in every activity)
Planning/conducting: measuring (non-standard K up, standard 2 up)
Processing/analyzing: classifying data, finding patterns (1 up)
coyote (?) print
Lessons activity is in
Black bear features
Materials
  • animal paw cast(s), if available and playdough or modelling clay
  • or use a stamp of animal prints, ink and paper
  • or look at print-outs of life-size animal prints
Procedure

If casts or stamps are available, make animal prints, and optionally your own hand print.

Alternatively, print out a life size bear print. e.g from here: https://wildlifeillinois.org/discover-animal-signs/black-bear-tracks/

Measure how long the animal footprint and your handprint is, to compare their sizes.
Record the number the toes or fingers. Do they have the same number of fingers/toes as us?
Make other comparative observations.

Note:
Often the animal footprint is only the front part of their foot, as they walk on their toes. If so, infer how long the real foot might be.
What shows up on the bear print that does not show up on ours? Claws.

Grades taught
Gr 1
Gr 2