At-home and at school learning resources from Learning for a Sustainable Future
Week 21: Track This
This week's LIO is all about the movement of animals during this time of the year! As the temperature begins to moderate, it becomes the perfect time to step outside and find some animal tracks left on the snow and mud. Animals like squirrels leave behind a "highway" of tracks as they make their way from tree to tree. Although squirrels share a similar footprint with other animals like the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit and Snowshoe Hare, if we take a closer look, we find some key characteristics in shape and movement patterns that can help us tell them apart!

Like these three animals, there is a ton of wildlife activity happening around us that we can track and observe during this time of the year. The activities below introduce students to exploring, identifying, and interpreting animal activity and help investigate the insulating effects of snow. Check out our mid-February Step Outside Nature Guide to learn more about discovering and exploring the clues these animals leave behind, in addition to some other happenings during this time of the year!
In this entertaining resource, students explore animal tracks while learning about how different animals move. The activity-based lessons guide students through a scientific investigation of different animal tracks and compare movement patterns. Students will also learn about adaptations and how these characteristic physical or behavioural features help an animal to survive in its environment.


Activities
What did you think of Animal Tracks: Keeping Track of Who Has Been Here?
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This resource offers several engaging activities in which students identify and interpret animal tracks left behind in the snow. The learning can take place in a nearby natural area, the schoolyard and the classroom. The resource provides direct links to plenty of background information, and the identification keys students will need for their investigations. The only requirement not included is fresh snow!



Activities
What did you think of Tracks in the Snow…in the Classroom?
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Grades 7-12
In this outdoor inquiry, students investigate how snow's depth and composition can determine its insulating effects. After digging a snow pit, the air temperature is measured, and the temperature and composition of the snow are recorded at regular intervals between the surface of the pit and the ground below. Students pool their results to determine patterns and consistencies in the relationships among snow depth, snow composition, snow temperature and the distribution of species. Several related winter activities are also suggested.


Activities
What did you think of Snow Characteristics?
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About Learning Inside Out

Above you will find a selection of activities, broken down by various grade levels. These guides will be released weekly and archived on our Learning Inside Out page, so you can always access the full catalogue.

All activities have been modified from resources on our R4R database, simplified and adapted for both outdoor learning in the school yard or at-home as needed. The activity descriptions above should contain all the information and links that you need!

If you'd like to view the full original resource on R4R, including curriculum connections for every province/territory, click the activity title.

We want this guide to work for you, so your feedback is invaluable to us.
Use the feedback button at the bottom of this Guide, or email us at info@LSF-LST.ca. We would also love to see photos of students engaging in the activities, please e-mail us any pictures or videos you have!
Let us know how this helped your learning and teaching from home or at school indoors and (hopefully) outdoors and what you'd like to see more of by filling out our brief feedback form!
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Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF) is a Canadian charity with over 25 years of experience working within the education system. Our Resources for Rethinking (R4R) database is an award-winning collection of resources that are peer-reviewed by certified teachers and connected to curriculum in all provinces and territories. R4R is recommended on many Ministry of Education websites.
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