Footprints in the Snow: Who Was Here?

In this engaging and educational activity, children explore different animal tracks they might find outdoors, in the snow – or after some rain. The students will study several tracks, learn why they look different (i.e., claws, foot pads), and discover what they reveal about animal behaviors. No snow – no problem! We provide alternative activities for completing this lesson without authentic tracks. 

Objectives

Identify various animal footprints

Count the number of tracks and measure their size to deepen math integration

Develop the ability to make inferences about animals’ movements, size, and direction based on their tracks

Learn about the importance of animal tracking in Indigenous cultures

Recommended Materials

Cold-weather clothing
Photos of animals, their tracks and study materials
Magnifying glasses
Tracks in the Snow Activity Sheet (PDF)
Tracks in the Snow Activity Sheet – Answer Key (PDF)

Associated Book List

• Whose Tracks Are These?: A Clue Book of Familiar Forest Animals by James D. Nail
• Who Was Here?: Discovering Wild Animal Tracks by Mia Posada
• Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee
• Animal Tracks by Arthur Dorros
• Big Tracks, Little Tracks: Following Animal Prints by Millicent E. Selsam
• Whose Tracks in the Snow?  by Alexandra Milton
• Life-Sized Animal Tracks by John Townsend

Grade Levels

K, 1st grade, 2nd grade

Details

Part 1: Exploring Animal Tracks Through Research and Reading

Choose a story from the associated book list to read about animal tracks. As you read, examine the tracks in the book. Questions to ask include:

• What do you notice?
• How many tracks can we count?
• How many toes does this animal have?
• Does the animal track have unique features (claws, talons, pads, a tail mark)?
• How do these features help the animal survive in their environment?

Students may be unable to answer these questions at the beginning of this activity. If further questions remain, students might research resources like Epic! Books for Kids, or National Geographic Kids to learn more about these animals and their behaviors.

 

Part 2: Searching for Tracks Outside

Give each child a magnifying glass. Give children several minutes to explore the outdoor space and look for signs of animal tracks. If they find some, follow them! Ask questions like:

• Are these animal tracks bigger or smaller than your footprints?
• What type of animal do you think made these tracks?
• Where do you think this animal came from and/or headed to?
• How can you tell which direction they were traveling? 
• Do the tracks follow a straight or curved path? Why do you think that is?

Do the tracks follow a straight or curved path? Why do you think that is?

Part 3: Make Your Own Footprint Tracks

Let children experiment with making their own tracks. Encourage them to use different parts of their bodies–hands, feet, knees–and notice how the tracks look. Have them compare their tracks with another classmate’s. Prompt students to consider the following: 

• How are the footprints alike? How are they different?
• Is one track bigger/smaller/longer/shorter than the other?
• Are one person’s steps farther apart than another’s? 

Let children take turns leaving a trail of tracks from one area to another while the other students cover their eyes. Can their classmates determine where they started and where they were going? 

Children may use a magnifying glass to examine one of the footprints in the play space. Questions to consider as they explore include:

• What can you tell about the person from their footprint?
• Can they you the type of shoe they were wearing? 
• Does someone have particularly big or small feet compared to others? 
• Can you match the footprint to the correct classmate?

No Snow Alternatives

Animal Footprint Scavenger Hunt

Play a printable scavenger hunt of animal footprints. Print the School Signals Animal Footprint Cards. Hide the animal footprint cards around the play space for children to search for. When they find one of the footprint images, have them to match the footprint card to the corresponding animal card. Ask children to explain their reasoning for making that match. Example responses include:

• “I could tell this footprint was made by a duck because the track has a web.” 
• “This footprint belongs to a raccoon because I counted its toes on both pictures and the numbers match.”
• “I know this footprint belong to an elephant because they are big!”

School Signals Animal Footprint Cards (PDF)

Animal Footprint Matching Game

Have children sit in a circle, and give each child one of the photos. When you say “go,” have children turn over their picture and try to find their partner with the match to their card. You can play several rounds of this game so students can have a different animal or print each time. 

School Signals Animal Footprint Cards (PDF)

The School Signals “Tracks in the Snow” Worksheet

Students may connect animals with their tracks in the snow using the School Signals worksheet. Get it here:

Tracks in the Snow Activity Sheet (PDF)

Tracks in the Snow Activity Sheet – Answer Key (PDF)

Extension

Animal Tracking Experts
Many Indigenous communities around the world have historically tracked animals as hunter-gatherers. With your students, learn more about several of these groups, including some of their tracking techniques, the animals they were following, and why they hunted them. Why was it important for hunter-gatherers to know animal tracks?