Lesson Plans

Kindergarden
Grades K – 3
Grades K – 8
Grades 3 – 6
Grades 3 – 8

Kindergarten

Kindergarten Bat Unit
From Bright Hub
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/8942.aspx
This lesson is one in a series about nocturnal animals.

Bat Crafts, Alphabet Letter B Theme, Printable Activities and Worksheets
From First-School
http://www.first-school.ws/activities/animals/wild/bat1.htm
Bats are fascinating and this lesson helps children have an appreciation for how wonderful and important this animal is!

Grades K - 3

Bat Model and Bat Flower
From the USDA Forest Service and Teacher Information Desert Discovery Class http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/teacher/documents/k5_DesertGardeners_models_bat.pdf
Cut out a bat and a flower that could be pollinated by a bat.

Bats at Enchanted Learning
From Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/bat.shtml
Enchanted Learning has a worksheet on bat anatomy, printouts, quiz, and other worksheets.

Bats: Creatures of the Night
From the University of Illinois College of Education
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/YLP/96-97/96-97_mini_units/Bats_MClaeys/bat.html
A unit on bats is a great way to expand of the concepts of observing and classifying. Studying bats allows for students to consider the physical differences between the two main groups of bats. It also provides a means for learning to compare different animals and their features. Lesson plans are available about: vibrations, sound waves, family sense, echolocation (for physical education), sensational ears, "What's the Flap?", incredible bats, mammals on my mind, and stuffed bat.

Bats: Need Nectar, Will Travel
From the USDA Forest Service and Teacher Information Desert Discovery Class
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/teacher/documents/k5_DesertGardeners_batGame.pdf
Students play the role of nectar feeding bats on their annual migration and try to avoid the different hazards that hinder their progress.

Bats! Why should you care?
From the Contra Costa County Office of Education
http://www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/bats/
This web site has several purposes. The first is to inform children about bats and the issues surrounding them. Bats certainly are one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet. There are almost 1000 species of bats with a huge variety of living conditions, diet and habits. Fascinating creatures that are ending up on the endangered species list. The second purpose is to try and teach a research method for a younger grade.

“Batty” about Bats!
From Alabama Learning Exchange
http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=4942
As a part of a week-long unit about bats, students will identify the characteristics of a bat and write an essay about bats. Student understanding will be enhanced through the use of books, poems, lectures, discussions, individual “flip books”, an art project, and the Internet.

Echo the Bat
From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/intro/index.html
This story, Echo the Bat, for young children includes science information while telling the story.

Halloween Lesson Plan on Bats
From Suite 101.com
http://www.suite101.com/content/halloween-lesson-plan-on-bats-a153520
Young students will truly enjoy a Halloween lesson plan on bats. Teachers can also include bat trivia and bat activities into the spooky Halloween curriculum. In this article, teachers will learn about bat facts, and discover some great children’s storybooks on bats that can be incorporated into a fun and educational Halloween lesson plan.

Science Fun: Bats
From EasyFunSchool Homeschooling Resource
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1951.html
Most bats send out sounds that bounce off objects and return to the bat’s ears as echoes. A bat can determine where objects are, how big, and even the shape of objects so they know what is food and what they might run into. This lesson plans helps student understand echolocation.

Stellaluna
From Power to Learn
http://www.powertolearn.com/teachers/lesson_activities/science/CBV.25.S.SCI.R6.F.pdf
Stellaluna by Janella Cannon is a popular children’s book about a fruit bat and there are many lessons related to the book.
Bats About Stellaluna

Stellaluna Literature Guide
From TeacherVision
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/fiction/activity/1738.html
This teacher's guide provides ideas for the exploration of Jannell Cannon's Stellaluna. Separated from her mother before she is old enough to fly, Stellaluna, an adorable baby fruit bat, finds her world turned literally upside down when she's adopted by a family of birds.

The Teacher’s Guide: Bats
From The Teacher’s Guide
http://www.theteachersguide.com/batslessonplans.htm
This web page includes bat activities, lesson plans, printable, writing prompts, math pages and more.

Grades K - 8

Bats
From Educational Technology Center – KSU
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/bats.html
This web page includes links for information sites, lesson plans, activities, and quizzes.

Bats in the Classroom: Activities Across the Curriculum
From Education World
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson031.shtml
This web site includes activities involving listening, maps, literature, and science.

Night Friends – American Bats: Online Activity Guide
From National Wildlife Federation and Bat Conservation International
CLICK HERE for a pdf copy.
This 32-page instructional guide includes basic information about bats as well as lessons plans:

Investigating Bat Adaptations - Students investigate adaptations that increase a bat’s chance of finding food and surviving in a particular habitat.
Bats: Maligned or Malicious -- Students explore their views of a threatened bat and present their findings.
Build a Bat House -- Students build a bat house for their Backyard Wildlife HabitatTM or Schoolyard Habitats® Site.

Grades 3 – 6

Bats A to Z: An Alphabet Book About Bats
From the Lubee Bat Conservancy
http://www.batconservancy.org/siteRoot/pdf/Lubee/Lubee_Bats_A_to_Z_Presentation.ppt#1
This PowerPoint Presentation has interesting information and great pictures of bats.

Frankie the Free-tailed Bat
From Texas Parks and Wildlife
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_1423.pdf
Frankie the Free-tailed Bat is a story about a Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) that was born in a cave located in the Texas Hill Country, but each year migrates to and from Mexico with thousands to millions of other members of its kind.

Fruit Bat Folding Paper Activity
From the Lubee Bat Conservancy
http://www.batconservancy.org/siteRoot/pdf/Lubee/Lubee_Fruit_Bat_Folding_Paper_game.pdf
Answer questions about fruit bats by creating a “cootie catcher.”

Guided Reading Lesson using Bats
From Teachers.Net
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1345.html
This lesson uses three books to teach about bats.

Hanging Around with Bats
From Texas Parks and Wildlife
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/resources/keeptexaswild/bats/activities.phtml
This web page contains lots of links, activities, and ideas for teaching about bats.

Mega Bat and Micro!
From Lubee Bat Conservancy
http://www.batconservancy.org/siteRoot/pdf/Lubee/ChiropteranComics_1.pdf
This comic book illustrates the two groups of bats – the largest bats that eat fruit and nectar and micro bats that eat insects.

Shadows of the Night
From Ford Elementary School in Cobb County, GA
http://ford.typepad.com/millican/shadows-of-the-night.html
This link provides an outstanding study unit for elementary students. Students research the following questions:
-- How do bats impact our environment?
-- Why do you think it is important to learn about bats?
-- How do the special characteristics of bats help them adapt to their environment?
-- How are bats and humans alike, yet different when comparing diet, physical features, and habitat?
-- How do bat myths and literature affect a human's perception of bats?

Grades 3 – 8

All About Bats / Kidz Cave
From Bat Conservation International
http://batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/kidz-cave.html
Bat Conservation International offers a selection of arts and crafts, games, and even a bat quiz.

Bat Quiz
From the Lawrence Hall of Science
http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/portfolio/bat-quiz/
How much do you know about bats? Test your knowledge by answering nine true/false questions. Your score will be calculated as you go, and after answering all nine questions, we'll tell you your score.

Bats
From the Aeronautics Internet Textbook
http://wings.avkids.com/Curriculums/Bats/
This web page includes lessons on echolocation, bat species, where bats live, bat wings, a comparison of bat and bird wings, and more.

Bats and Echolocation
From PBS
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1308/teaching/teaching.htm
Bats navigate using reflected sound waves. This process, known as echolocation, allows these animals to "see" in the dark. To uncover objects, bats must first emit a series of sound pulses. These pulses travel outward and strike objects. The pulses are then reflected off the objects and return back to the bats. Detected by their large ears, the sounds are quickly analyzed by the brain's echolocation center. This analysis is so precise that the bat can locate moving fish through a critical analysis of the ripples produced at the water's surface. In this activity, students will learn about echolocation and reflected sound waves and how to calculate distance based upon detection of reflected sound waves.

Cyberhunt: Into the Bat Cave
From Scholastic
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/bats.htm
Students can go online to conduct research about bats.

Discover Bats!
From Bat Conservation International ($23.95)
The accompanying teacher's activity book offers more than 220 pages of creative lessons that teach bat behavior, habitat, ecology and conservation in conjunction with the video. Students use essential skills such as reading comprehension, mathematics, written and verbal communication and more to learn key facts about bats while gaining an appreciation for global conservation concerns. The kit contains the award-winning 47-minute DVD and teacher's guidebook complete with reference information, bibliography, appendices and glossary. Students can participate in Internet-based learning activities for additional study.

Indiana Bat, Kids, and Caves – Oh MY!: An Activity Book for Teachers
From the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Education Department of Evansville’s Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/mammals/inba/curriculum/index.html
This curriculum offers a wide range of activities about bats, karst topography, and caves. Lessons include:
1. Karst for the Classroom - Bulletin Board Set-Up
2. Spelunker Speak - Cave Vocabulary
3. Sanctuary of Stone – Reading Comprehension
4. Caves & Bats in Indiana – Mapping Activity
5. In The Caves Where We Live – Cave Communities
6. Caves Under Construction –The Science of Cave Formation
7. Caves & Humans – So Happy Together? - Impact of Human Use
8. Cave Conservation - Why Care? - Research and Role Play
9. Bravo, Bats! - Why Bats Deserve Our Thanks
10. Pest Control - It All Adds Up – Word problems
11. Chiroptera Chat - Bat Vocabulary
12. The Wing’s the Thing - Bat Anatomy
13. Bats of Indiana - Playing Card Activity
14. Plotting Populations – Graph Drawing Activity
15. Indiana Bats And Me – Measurement Activity
16. Bats at Risk – Threats facing Indiana bats
17. Decades of Decline - Graph Interpretation
18. How Many Indiana Bats Can Sleep in a Shoe Box? – Spatial reasoning
19. Voices In The Night – Story Starters
20. Web of Decay - Cave Food Web Game

Plant a Bat Garden
From Organization for Bat Conservation
CLICK HERE for a pdf
Bats eat night flying insects. If you would like to attract bats to your garden, you may want to plant flowers that are late day blooming or night-scented. These plants will attract night pollinators, like moths, which bats like to eat.

Take a Bat Walk
From Organization for Bat Conservation
http://www.batconservation.org/drupal/bat-walk
Dusk is the best time to look for bats because it’s not yet too dark to see, but dark enough for bats to leave their roosts. In the city, look for bats hunting around lights on streets, playgrounds, football or baseball stadiums, or parking lots. In natural settings, look for bats near open water such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. Stand so the water is between you and the sunset. The lake will reflect the sky and light up the bats.

Welcome to the Underground
From the Bureau of Land Management
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/ . . . /science_and_children/caves/index.html
This curriculum includes lesson plans and activities on Bat Babies, Cave and Karst Watersheds, Living in the Dark, and more.