Title: Animal Tracking
Subject/Course: Science and Technology
Time: 70 minutes
Strand: Habitats and Communities
Grade: 4
Publication Year: 2010
Contributor(s): Courtney Micucci, Megan Hoferichter, Melissa MacIntye, Alyssa Doucet, Jessica Mumper, &
Breelyn Lancaster
Lesson Description
Students will examine fake animal scat in terms of size, shape, and contents to determine which animal it would have
come from. Students will then create animal scat (using oatmeal, water, and cocoa powder) and, using an animal scat
identification poster, attempt to identify which animal their classmates chose. Finally, students will attempt to match
scat, tracks, and the names of animals in Algonquin to pictures of local animals (including deer, rabbits, moose, etc).
The knowledge students will gain from this activity includes some of the differences between herbivores, omnivores,
and carnivores (including their diets and the flow of energy between them), aspects of digestion, and how human
impact on the environment can affect animals’ eating habits. Hunting will also be discussed, including how scat and
tracks can be used while hunting.
Stage 1: Desired Results
Big Ideas/Essential Question
• What is scat and what can it tell us?
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectations
1. Analyze the effects of human activities on habitats and communities
2. Demonstrate an understanding of habitats and communities and the relationships among the plants and animals
that live in them.
Ontario Curricular Specific Expectations
1.1 Analyze the positive and negative impacts of human interactions with natural habitats and communities, taking
different perspectives into account
2.5 Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary
3.2 Demonstrate an understanding of food chains as systems in which energy from the sun is transferred to producers
(plants) and then to consumers (animals)
3.5 Classify organisms, including humans, according to their role in the food chain
3.6 Identify animals that are carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores
Background Knowledge:
Key concepts and/or skills to be learned/applied:
• What is scat?
• Many different types of animals live together in
communities and interact with each other
• What can we learn about an animal from scat?
• Herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores
• How is scat from carnivores, omnivores, and
herbivores different?
• What are the names of some local animals in
Algonquin?
• How can humans affect what animals eat?
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Instructional Strategies
Student Groupings
•
Whole Class
• Cooperative Learning
•
Small groups
• Discussion (Teacher led)
•
Individual
• Discussion (Student led)
• Experiential Learning
References/Resources
Materials
• Images of scat
• Ontario Curriculum: Science and Technology,
Grade 4
• Premade scat
• http://nie.uniontribune.com/pdf/AnimalScat.
• Scat Observation Chart
pdf
• Oatmeal
• http://www.kza.qc.ca/assets/Language_Proje
• Cocoa Powder
ct/AnimalTracks/AnimalTracks.htm
• Water
• http://www.kza.qc.ca/assets/Language_Proje
• Bowls
ct/AlgonquinAnimals/AlgonquinAnimalMatch.
• Scat Identification Chart
htm
• Animal Cards
• Animal Tracks
• Animal Name Cards
Accommodations
•
Small groups can be created across ability levels to place stronger students with weaker students
Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction
Motivational Hook (5 MINS.):
• Write the word “scat” on the board. Ask students if they have ever seen that word before and if they know
what it means (scat is the name for animal poop found in the wild)
•
Show students images of scat. Ask what we can learn from scat (there is or was an animal nearby, what kinds
of animals are around, what the animal ate, etc)
Open (25 MINS):
• Arrange students in small groups
•
Hand out premade scat (Appendix 1) and discuss safety (it is okay to touch this scat because it is not real. You
would never touch real scat with your bare hands because it could make you sick)
•
Have students look at one piece of scat. Discuss what the size and shape of the scat tell them about the animal
(If it is small, it likely came from a small animal, etc)
•
Have students break one piece of scat apart and find what is inside. Discuss how the materials got into the scat
(the animal ate the materials)
•
Ask students what the contents of the scat can tell them about the animal. (if it is all plant material, it likely
came from a herbivore, etc)
•
Give students the Scat Observation Chart (Appendix 2) and have them fill out their observations for each piece
of scat. Then, using the Animal Scat Identification Chart (Appendix 3), have students attempt to identify which
animal the scat came from
•
Hand out premade polluted scat (Appendix 1) and have students determine what materials are inside (litter).
Ask students how they think the litter got in the scat (the animal ate it). Discuss how humans can affect what
animals eat in many ways, and why it is important to be respectful of animals’ habitats
Body (30 MINS):
• Tell students they are going to be making their own animal scat
•
Have students help make the scat mixture (Appendix 4). Divide the mixture among the students
•
Have students choose an animal from the Animal Scat Identification Chart and create scat for that animal. Tell
students to keep which animal they choose a secret
•
Once students have completed their scat, hand out the Animal Picture Cards (Appendix 5), Animal Tracks
(Appendix 6) and Animal Name Cards (Appendix 7). Have students work in small groups to match the images of
animals to the correct tracks and the name of the animal in Algonquin
•
Have students trade the scat they made with a member of their group. Then have students use the Animal
Scat Identification Chart to determine which animal the scat is from, and place the scat with the corresponding
image
•
Discuss when knowledge of animal scat and tracks would be important (hunting, hiking, etc)
Close (10 MINS):
• Have a talking circle where each individual describes one thing they have learned
Extension Activities
• Students choose an animal not listed on the Animal Scat Identification Sheet and hypothesize what that
animal’s scat would look like and what materials they might find inside it. Students can either draw a picture of
the scat or use left over scat mixture to create it
Link to Future Lessons
• Use the animals discussed in this lesson to create food webs
• The community described in this lesson could be used as a basis for lessons throughout the Habitats and
Communities unit
Assessment
• Formative: Observation
- Could students identify carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores?
- Could students describe the effects of litter on animals?
- Did students participate by creating scat and involving themselves in discussions?
Review/Reflection
Appendix 1: Premade Scat
•
Using the Animal Scat Identification Sheet (Appendix 3) and Scat Recipe (Appendix 4), create samples of
herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore scat. There should be enough for each student or small group to have
one of each sample.
•
Materials such as seeds, doll hair (fur) and clay (bones) should be hidden inside the scat.
•
For the Polluted Scat, hide a piece of garbage inside the scat.
Appendix 2: Scat Observation Chart
Name ________________________________
Animal Scat!
My Observations
Scat #1
What it looked like:
•
•
What I found inside:
•
•
I think this scat belongs to __________________________________
Scat #2
What it looked like:
•
•
What I found inside:
•
•
I think this scat belongs to __________________________________
Scat #3
What it looked like:
•
•
What I found inside:
•
•
I think this scat belongs to __________________________________
Appendix 3: Animal Scat Identification Sheet
Herbivore
Rabbit
What’s in it? Chewed up plants
Deer
What’s in it? Chewed up plants
Moose
What’s in it? Chewed up plants
Beaver
What’s in it? Wood chips
Omnivore
Raccoon
What’s in it? Berries, seeds, corn,
crayfish
Bear
What’s in it? Plants, bones
Squirrel
What’s in it? Chewed up plants
Carnivore
Fox
What’s in it? Hair
Wolf
What’s in it? Hair and bones
Appendix 4: Scat Recipe
You Need:
•
Measuring Cup
•
Teaspoon
•
Oatmeal (Not Instant)
•
Water
•
Cocoa Powder
1. Place ½ cup oatmeal on a plate. Grind oatmeal with your fingers to make it less chunky
2. Add 2 teaspoon cocoa. Mix with fingers.
3. Add water little by little until oatmeal mixture can be moulded.
http://nie.uniontribune.com/pdf/AnimalScat.pdf
Appendix 5: Animal Cards
Appendix 5: Animal Tracks
Raccoon
Rabbit
Deer
Wolf
Bear
Skunk
Squirrel
Beaver
Moose
Appendix 7: Animal Name Cards
English
Algonquin
Rabbit
Waboz
Deer
Wawashkeshi
Beaver
Amik
Squirrel
Adjidamo
Wolf
Mahingan
Bear
Makons
Moose
Monz
Raccoon
Esiban
Skunk
Shigag
Fox
Wagosh
http://www.kza.qc.ca/assets/Language_Project/AlgonquinAnimals/AlgonquinAnimalMatch.htm