Tracks and Trails - Activity Instructions

Preparation

We have provided you with an Animal Track Marking Cards. You can either:

print these double-sided cards so children can flip them over to find out which animals made the tracks
glue the tracks onto thick card (like a corrugated box), cut them out with a craft knife and glue them to a square of cardboard to make an animal track stamp. This is a great option if you want to use them multiple times or let the children have a turn at using the stamps.

Tune In

Invite children to sit quietly together in a circle, either in an open outdoor area or around the sandpit with the sand raked smooth. Read aloud an Acknowledgement of Country. Explain to the children that, ‘We do this to say thank you to Country. It is important to look after Country because Country looks after us.’

In your circle, choose one of the animal tracks (either from the flash cards or tracks stamped in sand) to show the children. Facilitate a discussion about what the markings could be and how they could have been made. Explain that these are footprints made by an animal walking by.

Share the rest of the tracks one at a time. Look at the different shapes, number of toes and the claws, and consider which animal the track may belong to. When you reveal the animal to the children, talk about the shape of its feet and how they make the marks in its footprint. Point out to children that the left foot and right foot are different shapes.

Discuss that with the emu, we get a pattern of left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. Ask the children, ‘How does an emu move?’ Children can tuck their arms in as wings and walk with one foot in front of the other, left, right, left, right (in an A, B pattern).

Ask the children, ‘What about the kangaroo? How does a kangaroo move?’ Show that with the kangaroo, we get 2 footprints together as they hop with 2 feet (in an A, A pattern)

Next, look at the echidna. Explain that echidnas are very special because the toes on their hind feet point backward. Students can practise crawling on all fours with their fingers pointing forward and their toes pointing backward. Encourage the children to waddle slowly like an echidna, moving one paw at a time (A, B, C, D pattern).

Echidna feet are amazing! The bones of their back feet are twisted around so that their long claws point backward, as seen in their footprint. These backward-facing claws allow them to scratch between their spines without getting spiked.

And lastly, let’s look at how a koala moves, up on all fours with toes and fingers pointing forward. They move their left hand and their right foot together, and then their right hand and their left foot together (A, B pattern). This is a tricky way to move!

Tell the children you are going to play a game. When you say an animal name, the children need to move like that animal. Set boundaries for the open space where children can move and remind them to look out for their friends. Move through the list, saying each of the animal names.

Find Out

Explain to children that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art often includes animal tracks. These tracks are used to tell stories about the animals through the artwork. Show the children the Patterns in Art factsheet.

Ask the children what they see in this painting. You could ask prompting questions, such as:

What can you see in this picture?
Can you see any footprints?
Which way are the footprints going?
Whose footprints do you think these are?
What do you think the story in this painting is about?

Model ‘I think’ statements with the children, such as:

I think this was an emu walking alongside the river.
I think there were kangaroos coming down to drink at the river.

Model telling a story to the children using footprint symbols to represent animals. You could draw or paint your story, or use your finger or a stick to draw in damp sand. Here is an example of a story you could tell.

Once there was a river. (Draw 3 wavy lines.)

A kangaroo who was very thirsty hopped up to the river for a drink. It took him 3 big jumps to get there. (Draw 3 sets of 2 prints to show the jumps.)

A goanna came slowly waddling along the riverbank. (Draw a goanna track with claws and a dragging tail in an A, B pattern.)

The kangaroo was so busy drinking, it didn’t notice the goanna, until the goanna got right up close and touched the kangaroo’s foot! The kangaroo leapt away in fright, hopping as fast as he could. (Draw jumping kangaroo tracks heading away from the river.)

Your finished drawing might look like this:

Learning extension: Do you have any First Nations artworks around your centre? You may have books, rugs, paintings, posters or other forms of artwork. See if the children can find any footprints in those artworks. Can they ‘read’ the story shared in the artwork? Encourage them to use ‘I think’ statements, and use sequencing and counting of tracks to share their interpretation of the symbols and story.

Take Action

Introduce children to the Waayin Game (it’s on page 199). Explain that it is their turn to try making animal tracks. Start by asking the children to draw kangaroo tracks. See if they can draw a pair of kangaroo footprints to make one track together. Have the children use stamps or draw tracks in sand, creating patterns of animal walks (one-by-one or two-at-once). Remind children to think about the way the animals move and which parts of their bodies touch the ground to make the tracks.

Encourage children to sequence and count sets of tracks across their page or sand pit. For example: ‘Draw 3 hops for a kangaroo, 4 crawls for an echidna.’

Invite children to ‘read’ and retell their patterns (‘I see 2 emu steps, then 2 kangaroo hops.’), strengthening sequencing and number matching.

Learning support: for some children, it may be easier to choose one of the animals we have already looked at today and practise copying the tracks from the card.

Learning extension: Children can experiment with adding more tracks and symbols and practise telling stories. You could write down their story as an artist statement, or record a short video of the child explaining their symbols and story.

Tracks and Trails

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Summary

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Activity Guides and Printables

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Core Skills

Curriculum Mapping

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