Materials
card stock or large chart paper
marker
picture of a rain cloud
5 images of children wearing rain gear
5 images of children wearing clothes unsuitable for the rain
Instructions
l Scatter some cotton balls around on the floor, like snow. Hide the pictures of
animals in different parts of the classroom, putting down images of their tracks
in lines through the cotton "snow" toward their locations.
What To Do
1. Gather the children together and talk with them about the winter. Ask the
children what kind of animals they have seen outdoors in the winter.
2. Read the children a book about animals in the winter (see list to the left).
3. Point out the animal tracks on the floor. Ask the children if they recognize any
of the footprints in the "snow."
4. Invite the children to follow the tracks and see whether they correctly
identified the animals who left the tracks.
5. Set out the markers, paper, and child-safe scissors. Show the children how
to draw outlines of their footprints and then cut them out. Help the children
make tracks of themselves through the classroom.
s o n g
Winter Tracks by Kristen Peters
(Tune: "Baa, Baa Black Sheep")
Follow the tracks in the white, wet snow.
Uphill, downhill, wherever they may go.
Big tracks, little tracks; wonder who made them,
Leading under a bush or into a den.
Follow the tracks and maybe we will see
What animal is hiding. Who could it be?
Assessment
To assess the children's learning, consider the following:
l Can the children name the animals that made the tracks in the snow?
l Are the children able to trace and cut out their own shoe prints?
