Day 25

 I discovered ANIMAL TRACKS about 10 years ago. It was a part of my district's old reading curriculum.  It may be old but I can't let this one go. The story itself is easy to read. Each page is structured like a riddle. My students immediately start suggesting animals that may have made the tracks. My students live in a small city so in many cases, they haven't had the opportunity to consider animal tracks. At recess though, many of my students were on their hands and knees looking for tracks.
Some students are unfamiliar with the animals in the book (great blue heron in particular). This book offers an excellent opportunity to build vocabulary and is a great place for me to assess what they know about forest animals too. Later in the school year, my class does animal reports. I let my students pick the animal they are interested in and every year, every animal featured in the book is picked by someone. My students will use ANIMAL TRACKS as it's first source of information. I don't tell them to use it, they remember the book and ask me if they can.

I also use this story to teach Main Idea and Detail. ANIMAL TRACKS has so many uses, If you can get your hands on it, I definitely recommend it!