Introduce the topic of animal tracks to your class by making a list of what the students already know. Ask them what tracks they have observed in nature, and discuss what types of surfaces would show animal tracks. For instance, hard concrete would not show tracks, but they can easily be seen in mud or wet sand. Let the children experiment with various materials to make their own tracks. Modeling dough, finger paints, dry sand and wet mud would all be excellent mediums for this activity.
Once your students have an understanding of how, why and where animal tracks occur, take a trip to an area where tracks are likely to be found. Depending on your area, this could be a nature trail, a beach or a marsh. Provide each child with paper and drawing materials and ask students to draw a picture of any animal tracks they come across. If possible, bring a field guidebook that will allow you to identify the tracks on the spot.
Write a letter to your students' parents explaining the theme and asking for their participation in some simple activities. Families who have pets could work together to discover the shape of the tracks made by their cat or dog. Parents could also take their children to a favorite park or playground to search for tracks and learn what types of animals frequent these familiar places. Ask parents to help their children draw or describe the tracks they found so that they can be shared with the class.
For the final project, ask each child to choose an animal that he finds particularly interesting. Help him research some basic facts about the animal, like its habitat, its diet and what its tracks look like. Discuss the connection between what the tracks look like and how the animal lives. Encourage each child to share the information he learned with the class through drawings, clay molds or a simple diorama. Whenever possible, encourage parents to participate in the research and creation of the final project.