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South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Wonderful World of Bats (Grades K)

Master Teacher

Christie Y. Trezevant

Time Allotment

One to two weeks

Overview

Bats (order Chiroptera) are the only mammals that are able to fly. They have the bad stigmatism of being a predator of humans, but this is not true. All bats, except the vampire bat, only eat insects. In fact, bats can eat up to their weight in insects each day. The vampire bat preys on small rodents. Bats use echolocation to fly and to capture prey. All bats are nocturnal. Some bats migrate to warmer climates in the winter while other types hibernate. They can be found in caves, trees and even under rocks. Most males are solitary, while most females are social. Using video and the Internet, students will discover the world of bats.

Subject Matter

Life Science

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Name the parts of a bat;
• Explain how bats are assets to humans;
• Name where bats live.

South Carolina Standards

Visit the SC Science Standards Web site

Kindergarten

Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment that could start an investigation.

Observe and describe how living things change as they grow.

Investigate and identify the natural resources (food, water, and air) that living things need to survive.

Observe that plants and animals go through a life cycle.

Media Components

Video

The Magic School Bus Going Batty. Produced by Scholastic, you can order this video online for $9.95. You will be required to register, but it is free to all US teachers. The registration process is very simple.

Web Sites

Echolocation. This Web site shows how echolocation works.

Bats. This Web site has information about bats and a diagram of bat body parts.

Explore the Bat Cave at the ROM. This Web site explains some of the myths about bats. Also has a virtual bat cave with information.

Aerodynamics of Bats. This Web site has a virtual book for young readers. Explains some facts about bats. Has a read me portion to the site where it will read the words if you have the correct program.

Materials

• Guided Reading Book-Stellaluna by Jannell Cannon (Harcourt, April 1993)
• poster board
• chart paper
• markers
• digital camera
• video recorder

Equipment

• computer and peripherals
• television and VCR
• digital camera
• video camera
• overhead projector

Prep for Teachers

• Collect various books on bats, fiction and non-fiction, for library center and read alouds.
• Bookmark Web sites.
• Print out the picture of a bat found at Bats. "White out" the labeled parts of the bat. Copy bat picture for labeling on a transparency and trace onto poster board, color if you want.
• Have your digital camera and/or video camera ready throughout the lesson to take students' pictures, which will be used in the Culminating Activity.
• When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Read the story Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. Before reading, give a brief description of the story. Say: "This story is about a baby bat that falls from its bat nest into the nest of a bird where it is taken in as a bird. The bat tries hard to fit in, but is unsuccessful. Let's read to see how Stellaluna overcomes her differences with her new family."

Step 2: Put the book away so that the students cannot see it. Talk about the story and the different things that happened.

Step 3: Ask the students what they know about bats. Write down everything that they say on a piece of chart paper in a bubble map. An example is this is found on Activity Sheet 2. Do not let anyone tell a child that what he or she knows is false. You want to have a clear picture of each student's prior knowledge.

Step 4: Have the children draw a picture of what they think a bat looks like. Do not give them any clues as to what a bat has or looks like. Collect pictures for the Assessment later.

Learning Activities

Activity One

Step 1: Go to the Web site Echolocation. Go to the link about body parts of bats. Lead the children into the Focus for Media Interaction comparing what they see here to what they put down on their papers.

Step 2: Ask this question, "What body parts do bats and people share?" Create a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between a bat and a human. (Note to Teacher: Activity Sheet 1 is an example for you.)

Place this chart somewhere in the room so that the students and you may refer back to it over the lesson.

Step 3: Use information from this chart to add to the original bubble map of bats, marking off any myths with a red marker.

Activity Two

Step 1: Put the poster board bat (See Prep for Teachers) up on chart stand for students to see.

Step 2: Have students tell you what they see in the picture. You write the words while they draw the picture from the word to the part of the picture. They can name a part, a color, etc. The point is to see what they notice, the details.

Step 3: Put the labeled bat picture up on the wall somewhere for future reference.

Step 4: Go to Explore the Bat Cave at the ROM. Show the students the many different pictures of the bats. Explain that they are going to create a bat that has all of the features that they have named so far.

Step 5: Use the art center for the creation of the bats. The bats will be 2- or 3-dimenional. They may or may not look like recognizable bats, but as long as the student labels the proper body parts, it is a success.

Step 6: Put out glue, scissors, and brown and black construction paper for 2-dimenional bats, or plaster, bendable metal (maybe paper clips), markers, cotton balls, black and brown paint, and paint brushes for 3-dimenional bats.

Step 7: To make 2-dimenional bats, just talk the students through the body parts of a bat. Do not give them an example to look at. When they have completed a bat, put it away to dry.

Step 8: To make a 3-dimenional bat, an adult needs to be at the center constantly. Help the students to stretch out the metal into a curve that resembles the curve of a body. Use enough to create an elongated body. Stuff this tightly with cotton balls.

Step 9: Mix plaster, if necessary, as stated on back of package. Spread on metal/cotton structure. Let dry over night. The next day, let the student paint the structure. Add wings (construction paper) and a head (colored cotton balls).

Community Connections

• Visit a local zoo if they have bats and try to get a behind the scenes tour about bats.
• Go to a veterinarian's office or have one come to the class to talk about bats.
• Go to a hardware or department store and find out what kinds of things are available to make a backyard more "bat friendly."
  

Student Materials

• paper
• pencils
• poster board

For bat creations:

• glue
• scissors
• construction paper
• plaster
• bendable metal (maybe paper clips)
• markers
• cotton balls
• paint
• paint brushes

Activity Sheets (PDF)

• Activity Sheet 1
• Activity Sheet 2