1st Grade “Animal” Tracking

teachertrackingFirst grade students at Davis Elementary have been learning about animal migration (SOL1.7) and we discovered that scientists learn about where animals migrate by attaching tracking devices to them. We discussed why scientists wouldn’t be able to directly observe where the animals went (some swim, some fly, and some travel faster than a scientist can!) Here’s an example of a map scientists created after attaching tracking devices to blue whales: National Geographic: Mapping the Blue Whale Migration. So today, the first graders were “mini-scientists” and tried tracking some “animals” using the iPads as tracking devices. We attached the iPads to their hungry teachers who migrated around the school in search of food. When the teachers returned from their journey we examined the photos on their devices and tried to figure out where they went. I gave the students a map of their school in Pixie (see photo) and they used the arrow tool to draw their teachers’ migration routes. If you are up for a greater challenge, you could send the students out to migrate with the iPads. We just weren’t ready for that yet!