PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
LESSON TIME: 25 minutes
TEACHER PREP:
WORDS TO KNOW:
MATERIALS NEEDED:
CURRICULUM LINK IDEAS:
MATH:
Measurement: Since bats can fly and/or "hear"
over long distances, have students graph the differences between
the 2 measurements. Be sure to introduce linear measurement
beforehand(such as feet, yards, miles, etc.)
Graph wingspan differences in bats. Fact: The world's
approximately 1,000 species of bats have wingspans which
vary from less than one inch to six feet, when measured from
tip to tip.
How many objects can you pack in a square foot?: Allow
students in cooperative groups to explore the possibilities
of what and how many objects could be placed within a square
foot-begin with school items such as a pencil or a science
book and then analyze the following science fact: Bats sleeping
in a cave fold their wings tightly against their bodies. As
many as 300 bats can pack themelves into one square foot of
space!
Timeline: Create a timeline of a bat's life by using
reference books for information regarding lifespan, mating,
reproduction cycle,etc. Use long sheets of shelf paper or
heavy twine knotted every few inches to represent a certain
number of months or years.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Picture Dictionary: In order to help the student to develop
an understanding of words with more than one meaning, try the
following activity. Make a picture dictionary with your class.
Write each word on a sheet of paper. Then have the students write
sentences and draw pictures to show the different meanings of the
word. Finally, put the pages together to make a book.
Noun Tree: Create a Noun Tree as a class project. On a big
sheet of paper, draw a tree with branches. List nouns. Draw and
cut out bat shapes. Hang each shape on the tree. Write the nouns
on the trunk or on the bat shapes.
Penmanship: Trace and copy lower case "b" in cursive.
Then, as the culminating activity, write the whole word,
"bat", in cursive. This can also be done for printing,
as well.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
"Stella Luna " (by Janell Cannon)Story: After
reading and discussing the book, "Stella Luna" by
Janell Cannon, point out the habits or traditions that Stella
( A bat) taught his bird friends and what they taught him. Discuss
the concept of sharing ideas and customs and how one way of doing
an activity or following a holiday custom is not better than another-
just different for different needs. Demonstrate other examples of
sharing multiculturally in today's society.
Bat Nook: Have a &qout; real world &qout; reading
corner-magazines (grownup's & children's),newspapers, atlases
and reference books that all contain info either related to bats
or uses of sonar or radar in other fields.
Mapping: Using a U.S. map, color in the areas where bats
are more densely found. Create a population legend using similar
colors. Analyze which states are more densely populated with bats.
Mapping: "Around the World". Create a legend using
colors for the various types of bats found around the world. Then
color code the various continents showing where the different types
of bats are located generally.
Legends & Folklore: Discuss the different cultures that either
honored or abhorred the bat and its habits via folktale or legend.
Make a "Pro & Con " list of countries and graph accordingly
on a world map.
VISUAL/ PERFORMING ARTS:
Popcicle Puppets: Color bat pictures. Cut out the desired
shapes and glue back to back at the top of popsicle stick.
Hanging Bats: Trace a bat along a folded edge of black
construction paper, then cut and attach string to create a hanging
bat.
Dioramas: Create and build the proper environment for a bat
and attach a paper or toy version of a bat inside the diorama.
Label the top of the diorama with facts learned about bats.
Movie Ideas: "Batman" and "Batman ForEver"
( Warner Brothers Co.) all contain similar plot lines of a reclusive
millionaire who goes into action from his batcave to become a nocturnal
superhero to fight villains and crime in general. Slight science
correlation in the sense of the bat's nocturnal lifestyle and design
of Batman's cape. ("Batman Returns" is not suggested for
class viewing due to its dark, disturbing theme and high level of
bloodiness.)
PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
Baton Relay Race: Students race from point to point passing on
a baton to their next team member. Fact: Insect-eating bats hunt
with ruthless accuracy. They use their wings to scoop mosquitos,
gnats and other flying insects into their mouths, then eat their
meals while in flight.
Marshmallow Eating Relay Race: A variation of the baton- relay
race in which a student runs an entire length of the race but must
stop and pick up a miniature marshmallow from a food container (bowl
or plate) at 3 different points, pops it into his mouth and continues
running to the final point.
NightTime/Daytime Race: A variation of the Red Light/Green Light
game in which one student turns his back on a line of remaining
students and says "NightTime" for "go" and to stop
classmates from continuing (running forward) says "Daytime".
Discuss with class that bats are more active in the nighttime due to
their being a nocturnal creature. So, in this game, the
"bats" (students) are "flying"only during the
"nighttime" and must stop during the "daytime".
LITERATURE LINKS:
America's Neighborhood Bats:
Understanding and Learning to Live in Harmony with Them
Bats
Large as Life Animals in Beautiful
Life-Size Paintings
Wings
Stella Luna