Animal Track Trackers

Each team follows an animal's trail of footprint cards across the playground, moving the way that animal moves, until it finds the animal's den. The trails cross each other. Students practice observation, visual discrimination and exploring their surroundings.

How to play

1. Before class, lay out 5 trails of 8 cards (fox, rabbit, deer, duck and raccoon) spaced 5 to 10 meters (15 to 30 feet) apart. Each trail ends at a hoop, the den, with a question about that animal.
2. Take 3 minutes to show the 5 tracks and how each animal moves: rabbits hop with feet together, ducks waddle in a squat, foxes jog on tiptoe.
3. Form 5 teams of 5 and give each an animal. On the signal, teams find their first track near the start and follow the trail moving like their animal.
4. Other animals' cards sit at the crossings: follow only your own. At the den, answer the question and jog back.
5. Each team switches animals and goes again. Play 3 rounds of 4 minutes.
6. Wrap up for 3 minutes as each team completes a worksheet matching each track to its animal.

Rules

• Don't pick up or move the cards; just look.
• Teams stay together and wait for the slowest member.
• Cross other trails without bumping into other teams.
• If a team gets lost, it goes back to the last track it was sure of.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student chooses how to move, and trails run over smooth ground.
• Hearing impairment or autism: use a poster with photos of each animal and its track, and demo every movement first.
• Fitness level: students who need it can alternate the animal movement with walking stretches.

Learning goals

• Tell different animal tracks apart by sight.
• Follow a trail outdoors while keeping direction.
• Explore ways of moving by imitating animals.

Equipment for a class of 25

• track cards: 45
• hoops: 5
• worksheets: 5
• pencils: 5
• rolls of tape: 2

Teacher tip

Laminate the cards and tape them to the ground or to posts so they don't blow away. Tie it to science class: which animals live near the school and how to spot their tracks on a field trip.

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