TOPICS: Behavior, mammals, ecology, adaptation/evolution.
LEVEL: Middle or high school
TIME: 15 minutes to make track plan and data table, one period for human tracking. Animal tracking is done as homework
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MATERIALS:
Make copies of small data sheets to glue or tape to index cards in step C. You may wish to glue the whole sheet on a manilla file folder before cutting, or reproduce directly on heavy paper. Each student must have a stake with a different number. Suitable field guides include A Field Guide to Animal Tracks by Murie (Peterson Field Guide Series, Houghton Mifflin) and A Guide to Nature in Winter by Stokes (Little Brown)
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PROCEDURE FOR TRACKING HUMANS:
Review the field procedure before the students go outdoors. In the field, you may wish to make and interpret a simple trail for your students before they start
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STEP A:
If more time is available you may wish to increase the number and kind of snow movements for the track plan
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STEP D:
Tell students that you will blow the whistle 2-4 minutes after they start to make tracks. At this time students should be about half done with their track plan and ready to turn back toward their starting stake
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STEP E:
Make sure student's name and stake number is on each track plan card as it is turned in
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TRACKING ANIMALS:
This part of the activity is meant to be an open-ended opportunity for students to investigate animal tracks outside school. You may wish to have students record information on all mammals in a given area like a woodlot, field, or city block. Students in an urban environment may include bird tracks in their analysis. Some students may enjoy photographing the tracks they analyze
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STEP I.
You may wish to discuss ways to record and organize the required data with your class before making the assignment.
QUESTIONS 3-5 require higher-order thinking skills. Question 3 may require library work. We recommend that you discuss these questions in class before having students write out their answers
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1-2.
Answers will vary
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3.
Answers will vary. Students may have to infer winter survival behavior from information on summer food sources and habitat use
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4.
Tracks may not show on hard crusty snow or ice. Loose powder snow or wind can obscure tracks. Warm temperatures with or without rain can destroy tracks
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5.
Answers will vary. One possibility is to compare the number of animal trails that cross a transect through both habitats.