Station 4: Animal Tracks

Class Activity: Animated Animals

Materials: print-out flashcards of wetland animals (optional: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CiMF6c659TxUCrOjfTl2ckprGQfO0MU_QUYEosGpP6s/edit?usp=sharing , Mammal Movements mini-poster https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jcyiMu-lbhraFbLhv6xwQ4NSzQOk0q6Hg-_IEDqddDY/edit?usp=sharing )

• Begin the activity by repeating that animals move in many ways-- we can sort animals into groups based on how they move
• Pass out animal flashcards to students, allow each student to pick a favorite animal, or assign small groups of students to represent different animals
• Ask students to sort themselves into groups based on how their animal moves
  • Group ideas-- Animals... that walk with 2 legs, 4 legs, that swim, fly, hop, or climb trees
• Share 'Mammal Movements' mini poster with the class
  • Ask students to decide if the card they are holding is a mammal
    • If their card is NOT a mammal, what other group would they fit in?
    • Ex. the insects, fish, or birds could each form pairs
  • Read the information about the Dog Walk and the Giraffe Walk to students and have them practice each type of walk using all four limbs!
• If many different animals use legs to move along the ground- how do snakes move when they do not have any legs?
  • Snake 'slither' using their stomach scales to grip the ground and stomach muscles to push off
  • Snakes also lift parts of their body off the ground to move more quickly
  • Show toy snakes to point out scales along stomach
    • If this were a real snake, the scales on the stomach would feel more like shingles on a roof-- and be able to push at dirt when the snake moves it's muscles