Reading Dinosaur Trackways
Science · Dinosaurs & Paleontology · procedural
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
What mastery looks like
- 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)
Check your understanding
If Reading Dinosaur Trackways 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?
Prerequisites
Required first