Something is afoot! The leaves are falling, the year is winding down, yet the evidence is everywhere! What clues can you look for that animals have been present?
My third grade students looked for these clues on an unseasonably warm day in November. It had been raining earlier in the week. The ground was covered with fallen leaves. Previously hidden nests were revealed in the exposed branches. Tracks filled the soft earth.
With pencils, clip boards, data sheets, and scat and track guides, we went exploring. We looked in three locations: school garden, oak grove, and creek. Would we find evidence of animal shelters, tracks, scat, eaten food?
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| What's under here? |
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| Is this a home? |
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| How about this? |
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| Found something! |
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| Who lives here? |
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| What's that?! |
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| Give me shelter! |
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| Scat! Deer scat! |
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| Bark beetles set up their edible hotel. |
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| "There's a feather in there! Must be a bird's home!" |
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| "Is that a home?" "No, my little brother made that." |
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| Is this the key hole? |
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| Mushrooms eat the wood. |
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| Who ate this? Squirrel or chipmunk? |
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We found leaves eaten by caterpillars earlier in the year.
Some thought they were worm holes. We're always learning more! |
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We drew pictures of our finds and took notes.
What else did we learn and discover? |
Conduct your own investigation with the resources found
here.
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