My Side of the Mountain Novel Study Activity, Animal Research & Tracking Project

Looking for an engaging My Side of the Mountain novel study activity that connects reading, research, science, and writing? This animal research and tracking project invites students to follow in Sam Gribley’s footsteps as they investigate wildlife, draw animal tracks, and create a mystery for a classmate to solve!

Designed to complement My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, this printable project gives students a purposeful way to explore animals found in the Catskill Mountains or their own local wilderness.

Students organize their research in an Animal Tracker Report, study the details of an animal’s footprint, and turn their findings into a “Who Made This Track?” mystery with six clues.

What’s Included

✅ Step-by-step project directions

✅ Student project checklist

✅ Two-page Animal Tracker Report with guided research prompts

✅ Space to record research sources

✅ Animal track rough draft worksheet

✅ Final animal track drawing page

✅ Six-clue Animal Track Mystery writing template

✅ Three-animal choice page for additional mystery-solving support

✅ 100-point quick grading rubric

What Students Will Research and Create

Students investigate an animal’s habitat, diet, sounds, shelter, geographic location, and identifying signs. They examine track size, foot shape, toe arrangement, and special markings before drawing a realistic animal footprint.

Next, students write six factual clues about their animal without revealing its name. Partners use the clues and track drawing to infer which animal left the footprint, bringing research, writing, and critical thinking together!

Skills Students Practice

• Animal research and note-taking

• Organizing information and recording sources

• Informational and descriptive writing

• Making inferences using evidence

• Scientific observation and attention to detail

• Drawing from a reference image

• Writing complete sentences

• Spelling, grammar, and punctuation

• Partner collaboration and problem-solving

A Meaningful Extension for Your Novel Study

Use this My Side of the Mountain project as a novel study extension, culminating activity, or cross-curricular ELA and science lesson.

The guided worksheets help students move from research to a finished product, while the checklist and rubric provide clear expectations.

With animal research, drawing, and a partner mystery, students have a reason to gather accurate facts and communicate them clearly.

Bring the wilderness into your classroom and challenge your students to discover who made those tracks!