Animal prints

Summary

Make animal footprints in playdough or modelling clay, and optionally compare to human handprints.

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)

Lessons activity is in

Bears and hibernation

Materials

Animal paw cast(s)
Playdough or modelling clay, or purchased
Alternatively, use a stamp, ink and paper

Procedure

Use playdough or modelling clay to make animal prints, and optionallly your own hand print.

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.

If using stamps, look up the real sizes and calculate how much larger the real footprint is.
Optionally add a scale bar to the stamp.

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. (Show a real bear foot.)

Grades taught

Gr 1

Gr 2

Activity