Science // Dinosaurs & Paleontology

Reading Dinosaur Trackways

Use dinosaur trackways (fossilised footprints) to make inferences about a dinosaur's size, speed, and behaviour — widely spaced prints suggest running, closely spaced suggest walking

Ages
7 to 9
Type
Method
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic

Quick check

If the learner saw a line of dinosaur footprints at a museum, could they figure out whether the dinosaur was walking or running based on how far apart the prints are?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Explain that larger footprints generally mean a larger dinosaur
  • Compare spacing between prints to infer walking versus running
  • Suggest what a set of parallel trackways might mean (e.g. dinosaurs travelling in a group)

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Types of FossilsRequired

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 7 to 9

    Must understand trace fossils before analysing trackways

You are here

Reading Dinosaur Trackways

Ages 7 to 9 // Method

Leads to

1 topic
  • How Palaeontologists WorkHelpful

    Dinosaurs & Paleontology // Ages 9 to 11

    Understanding how palaeontologists work in the field and lab includes the use of trace fossils like trackways as evidence — having previously studied trackway inference prepares students to understand fieldwork procedures more concretely

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

Children aged 7–9 learn to read fossil dinosaur trackways (trace fossils) as evidence, using a 'measure a clue → make an inference' routine: print SIZE indicates approximate body size; STRIDE (the distance from one print to the next print made by the same foot) relative to print size distinguishes walking (short stride for the print size) from running (long stride for the print size); several PARALLEL trackways in the same direction can suggest a group/herd; two CONVERGING trackways can suggest a predator following prey. Throughout, conclusions are framed as well-supported guesses, not certainties, and tracks are contrasted with body fossils to show that traces capture a moment of behaviour bones cannot. Core objective: separate the two variables — size is read from the print, speed from the spacing compared with print size — and keep reasoning qualitative (longer stride for its size = faster), not the numeric speed formula (that comes later).

Common misconceptions

  • 'Footprints show what the dinosaur looked like' — they show behaviour/movement, not anatomy.
  • 'Wider gaps always mean a bigger dinosaur' — gap indicates speed; size is shown by print size (must separate the two).
  • 'A trackway proves a herd/chase' — these are plausible inferences, not certainties; other explanations exist.
  • 'The deeper/larger print means it was running' — running is inferred from long stride relative to size, not depth alone.
  • 'Footprints and the dinosaur's bones are always found together' — tracks are usually found without the track-maker's body.

Useful representations

  • A trackway map with measurable print size and stride spacing, plus a walk/run indicator.
  • Side-by-side trackways: closely spaced (walking) vs widely spaced (running).
  • A multi-trackway scene: parallel prints (group) and two converging sets (chase).
  • A 'clue → conclusion' annotation layer on the footprints.

Teaching practices

  • Frame every reading as 'measure a clue → make an inference', explicitly labelling conclusions as well-supported guesses.
  • Anchor speed to STRIDE RELATIVE TO SIZE (longer gap for its size = faster), not raw gap, to avoid a size confound.
  • Use whole-scene trackways (parallel, converging) so behaviour — herding, chasing — becomes readable, showing traces capture moments bones can't.
  • Contrast body-fossil evidence (what it looked like) with trace evidence (what it was doing) to reinforce why traces matter.
  • Invite alternative explanations (are parallel tracks really a herd, or just a popular path?) to model tentative reasoning.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Palaeontologist's track-reading bench

    Why it works: Reading trackways is a measure-then-infer procedure: print size answers how big, stride compared with print size answers how fast, scene patterns suggest behaviour, and every conclusion is an evidence-based inference rather than a certainty.

    1. Measure a single large footprint and read off an approximate, tentative body-size estimate it suggests (e.g. 'about as tall as a house'), treating that figure as a rough guide that depends on the species rather than a certainty.
    2. Measure the stride in a trackway: the distance from one print to the next print made by the same foot.
    3. For a fixed print size, lengthen the stride and watch a gait indicator swing from WALK toward RUN, so that speed is read from the SPACING compared with print size while size is read from the PRINT — two separate questions.
    4. In a whole-scene mode, interpret multiple trackways: tag parallel sets as a possible herd travelling together, and two converging sets as a possible predator trailing prey, attaching your inference and how confident you are.
    5. Respond to a 'could it be something else?' prompt by proposing an alternative explanation (e.g. parallel tracks might just be a popular path, not a herd).
  2. 2

    Annotated trackway scene: tap to reveal the reasoning

    Why it works: The clue→conclusion links (size→body, spacing→gait, pattern→behaviour) can be made explicit and checked, reinforcing what each measurement supports.

    1. Study a trackway scene and, before revealing, state what each print's size and spacing suggest.
    2. Tap individual prints to reveal size → body-size and spacing → gait annotations, checking them against your own reading.
    3. Tap a multi-track scene to reveal the herd and chase interpretations, then say why those are plausible rather than certain.
  3. 3

    Check your reading: compare and interpret trackways

    Why it works: Learners can demonstrate that they read size from the print and speed from the spacing, and can offer plausible behavioural interpretations as inferences.

    1. Given two trackways drawn to the same scale, decide which shows running and justify it from stride relative to print size.
    2. Interpret a multi-track scene by choosing what parallel tracks might mean and what two converging sets might mean.
    3. Use a slider to estimate 'how big was the maker?' from print size alone, keeping it separate from the speed judgement.

Science // Dinosaurs & Paleontology

More in Dinosaurs & Paleontology

All 29 topics