ANIMAL TRACKS

            The Animal Tracks kit is a wonderful way for students of primary and middle grades to create their own Plaster of Paris animal tracks using the enclosed flexible molds, while learning the natural history of animals common to North America’s wilderness region.  This kit can be used in conjunction with these study kits: Discover Wild, Skulls, and Wolves. The activities in each of these kits will stimulate student awareness in ecology and encourage conservation as the class explores different facets of animals familiar to North America.

Kit contents include:
Over 20 mold forms of assorted animal tracks, including:  Cottontail rabbit, woodchuck, deer, bobcat, gray fox, beaver, raccoon, opossum, and coyote
            Instruction sheet for plaster casting, both positive and negative

Books include (n.b., all books are thoroughly illustrated)
Field Guide to Tracks (Nasco), all ages.  The book’s focus is on North American Wildlife and contains hand-drawn animals, their tracks, and basic information, as well as a track size comparison feature.
Animal Tracks of Southern California, all ages.  The book contains basic animal information and hand-drawn tracks.
Animals Tracks, primary grades.  This read-aloud book has simple text and a guessing-game format that allows children to explore the animal community in the forest.  Simple directions are enclosed to help students collect tracks at home.  The book also shows hand-drawn life-sized tracks and half-life sized tracks.
Whose Tracks Are These? primary grades.  This is a clue book of familiar forest animals, presented in a guessing game format.
Animal Tracking and Behavior (Stokes Nature Guide), middle grades – adult.  Contents include a thorough guide to animal tracks and signs, as well as complete information on the animals’ lives and behavior.  Hand drawn.
Tracking & the Art of Seeing, all ages.  This beautifully photographed book is an in-depth personal account of reading tracks and signs in the wilderness.  According to the author, “Tracking an animal is opening the door to the life of that animal.”  The book contains a wealth of information regarding the interpretation of animal tracks, trail patterns, signs, and scat of North American animals

LEARNING STYLES ADDRESSED by ANIMAL TRACKS INCLUDE:
Visual-spatial – The tactile/visual nature of this kit will appeal to these learners
Verbal-linguistic – Shared orally or in written format, background information provides much detail. 
Physical-kinesthetic – The tactile/visual nature of this kit will appeal to these learners
Logical-mathematical – Several of the books include various statistical and measurement components that will appeal to this type of learner.
Auditory-musical – Tracking & the Art of Seeing provides descriptions of various calls.
Interpersonal – Students will find many things to discuss and share.  Making Plaster of Paris tracks is appropriate for group work.   
Solitary-intrapersonal – The intrapersonal learner can learn through reading or by solitary project work.

CALIFORNIA CURRICULUM and CONTENT STANDARDS of ANIMAL TRACKS