Bats are Sleeping

Bats are sleeping.
Bats are sleeping.
Upside down.
Upside down.
Sleeping in the morning sun.
Waiting for the night to come.
Then they'll fly all around.
Then they'll fly all around.

Three Little Bats

One little bat
Hanging by its feet.
Two little bats
Wishing they could eat.
Three little bats
Waiting for the dark
So they can stretch their wings
And fly around the park.

Little Bat      

Small and furry, little bat,
Fly through the sky at night.
Listen, listen, little bat
As echoes guide your flight

Swoop and dive, little bat.
Catch insects as you fly.
Hurry, hurry, Little bat,
Back to your nearby cave.

Snug and warm, little bat,
Toes hold the ceiling tight.
Sleepy, sleepy, little bat,
Wrapped in your wings until night.

     Bats 

Flying, flying in the sky,
Bats are neat, I'll tell you why.
Flying foxes are the tallest,
Bumblebee bats are the smallest.
Bats are yellow, red, and brown,
Bats sleep hanging upside-down.
Some eat bugs and some eat fruit,
Some look mean and some look cute.
Flying, flying in the sky,
Bats are neat, now you know why!

Baby Bat

The baby bat 
Screamed out in fright,
"Turn on the dark,
I'm afraid of the light."

Bat

A bat can hang upside down
It holds on with its toes
When it wants to find some food
It spreads its wings and goes
A bat might live inside a cave
And fly around at night 
And when it's dark a bat knows
How to get around all right.

Five black bats
Ready to soar;
One stayed behind,
Now there are four.

Four black bats
Hanging from a tree;
One fell down,
Now there are three. 

Three black bats
Wondering what to do;
One flew away,
Now there are two. 

Two black bats
Sitting in the sun;
One fell asleep,
Leaving only one.

One lonesome bat
With no place to go,
Went hiding in a cave,
Now there are zero.

Those Bats

They come in many colors,
Flying through the nighttime air.
They use sonar to guide their way,
Those bats are everywhere!

They eat so many little bugs,
The farmers love them so.
But when the daylight comes along,
Do you know where they go?


 

Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon

Bats
by Gail Gibbons

Beautiful Bats
by Linda Glaser

Bat Jamboree
by Kathi Appelt

Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats
by Anne Earle

The Magic School Bus:
Going Batty
by Nancy E. Krulik

Shared Reading
Focus on Rhyming with this song:

Bats
(Tune: The Beverly Hillbillies Theme)

One, one one, bats have lots of fun.
Two, two, two, bats can shout,"Boo!"
Three, three, three, bats hang in a tree.
Four, four, four, bats can soar.

Five, five, five, bats can really dive.
Six, six, six, bats can carry sticks.
Seven, seven, seven, bats fly straight to heaven.
Eight, eight, eight, bats sit on a gate.

Nine, nine, nine, bats are feeling fine.
Ten, ten, ten, let's count them all again.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four,
Three, two, one -- the bats had fun!

Guided Reading

Down in the cave
Where it's very dark
Upside-down
The bats all park.
They fly all night
They sleep all day
Did you ever see a bat
________
(Fill in the blank with something that rhymes)
Down in the cave!

In a small group format, brainstorm a list of words that rhyme with "bat". Then have the students think of what the bat could do with the item. An example might be: Did you ever see a bat play with a rat?
Since it is early in the year, scribe for the children and then have them illustrate their pages.  Compile all of the student pages into a class book to enjoy for the months to come.

My bat's name is __________.

Independent Writing

On bat shaped paper write the word BAT down one side, then write a poem using the letters in BAT.

Phonemic Awareness

A fun way to practice beginning consonant sounds is with the "Batman Theme"  Here is what it would sound like if you were practicing /b/:

bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu;
bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu;
Batman!

Choose different consonant sounds (cu...Catman! or hu...Hatman! or zu...Zatman!)
If you want to proceed to having students associate the sounds with the letter symbol, simply make a set of alphabet flashcards and hold up the letter. The class responds with the correct version of the song. Another, more difficult, variation would be to make two sets of each letter. Let students draw a letter from a pile (have just enough matches for the number of students) and hide it. When you say "go", each student begins quietly singing the version that corresponds to the letter they are holding. As they sing, the students walk around listening for their matching partner. When the partner has been identified, students should stop singing, check to see if their letter cards match and sit down together. Game ends when all students have located their partner.

Bats in the Belfry

• Make Bat headbands (black construction paper bat on a sentence strip).

• Have children wear headbands as they gather in a circle. 

• Invite one child to "fly" to the center and call out "Bats in the Belfry"

• This child changes his/her first name and chooses a place that begins with the same sound.  EX: Michael's in the mall.

• The child then chooses another student to "fly" into the center and call out a new phrase.

• Continue playing until all bats get to fly!

The largest bats have a wing span of nearly 6 feet and the smallest bats have a wingspan of just 3 inches. This fact (and many others) can be found in the book, Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats.  Display a diagram of a bat to see the various parts of a bat. To follow up this information Make bats representative of the largest and smallest bats. Demonstrate measuring and drawing a bat to the specifications by sketching the largest one as the students observe. Measure a piece of brown bulletin board paper using a yardstick and discuss the process. Then cut the paper to the right length and fold it in half to make a crease in the middle. Draw the bat's head and body in the middle of the page and extend the wings on either side to the edge of the page. Trace around the outside with a black marker. Groups of students work cooperatively  to add details to the bat and cut it out. Following the demonstration, give each student a strip of paper three inches long and have them draw a bat to represent the smallest bats. Display the large bat in the hallway with the small bats all around it.

Trace a bat pattern onto white paper. Divide the entire picture up into sections by drawing random lines over the picture. Label each of the sections with a particular number or shape (up to 4 different numbers or shapes.) Give directions for the student to color all the 2's and 7's black.(the sections on the bat shape) Give directions to color the 4's and 9's yellow. (those sections not the bat shape) When they complete this correctly they will have a bat picture.

Read aloud Bat Jamboree. This humorous fiction selection will provide the opportunity to practice counting to 55. If your students are ready to work on some addition, provide manipulatives and reread sections of the story. Have the students work out these stories with their manipulatives.

A single brown bat can eat 600 insects in just one hour! In order to help the students understand just how many 600 is, divide them into 6 cooperative groups. Give each group a paper plate and a sheet created on the computer with 100 mosquitoes on it (10 rows of ten). Each group's task is to cut out all 100 mosquitoes and glue them to the paper plate (with tiny drops of glue!). When every group is done reconvene as a class and line the paper plates up to count by 100's. Display work in the hallway under the heading "A Batty Breakfast".

Stellaluna's Fruit Sticks

You will need (per child): craft stick, 2 banana slices, 1 large grape, 2 melon chunks.

1. Push the stick through a grape.

2. Add 2 banana slices.

3. Finish with 2 melon chunks.

Make Your Own Bat
Cut three egg cups out of an egg carton.  Cut out the front side of each of the end cups. Using colored markers or crayons, draw a face on the center cup. Poke a hole through the top of the center cup and thread a rubber band through it. Now you can dangle your bat!

All About Bats
Make a booklet and illustrate pages that include these facts: Bats come out at night. Bats can fly. Some bats eat harmful insects. Bats live together. Bats need our help.

Origami Bats
You need two squares of construction paper, one twice as large as the other. Fold the large square diagonally to make a triangle. Place the triangle in front of you with the base down and the point up. Put one finger on the middle of the base and fold the left bottom point towards the top. (This forms one bat wing) Repeat on the right side. Fold the top corner down slightly to form the bat's feet. Fold the small square in the same way, except make certain that the left and right bottom corners are to the left and right (respectively) of the center and that the corners extend past the top (bat ears). Turn this over and draw a bat face. Staple the head to the body. Display by hanging upside-down.

Make a Bat Cave

Materials:

Large boxes (appliance box size)
Toilet paper and paper towel tubes
Plastic bats
Black Paper

Cover the boxes in black paper and cover the tubes as well. Hang the tubes from the top of the box for perches for the bats. You can have the class make their own bats to hang from the tubes, or use plastic ones. They can bring flashlights in the cave for reading bat books!

Bat Masks
Cut out bat shape on black or brown construction paper. Use a hole punch to make holes on the sides. Decorate with crayons, glitter, colored pencils, etc. Cut out the eye holes. Add elastic through the holes to create the mask.

At the beginning of the bat unit, begin with a KWL chart and recorded what children know about bats. Keep this chart going throughout the unit and add new discoveries about bats periodically.

Stellaluna Ideas

• Before reading Stellaluna have students decide whether or not a bat is a bird. Give them small slips of paper to write either "yes" or "no". Make a chart with a nest on it. The "yes's" go on the nest. The "no's" go outside the nest.
• Have class make predictions about the book Stellaluna.
• Read the story Stellaluna aloud to the class, engaging them in comprehension questions as you read.
• After reading Stellaluna review with children whether or not a bat is a bird. Create a Venn diagram comparing the distinguishing and common characteristics. Draw a large bird with one wing extended to the middle and a large bat with a wing extended to the middle and overlapping the bird's wing to record results.  
• When done, give each student drawing paper, crayons and/or markers. Ask the students to draw an illustration of their favorite part of the story.

• Have students share their pictures and display them in the classroom's "Stellaluna Art Gallery".

"Bat Fruit Salad"

  Since many tropical bats eat fruit, make a salad out of some of the fruits they might eat. A salad could contain bananas, dates (raisins would be fine) and mangos. Mix together in a large bowl and enjoy!

A Bat Food Chain
Discuss the various things bats eat and also discuss what would eat bats! Have the students make a paper chain with eight links. Give them a half sheet of paper with a flower, a moth, a bat and an owl drawn on it. They cut out these pictures and glue them in order using every other link on the chain they have made.
 

Echolocation
Introduce echolocation with this on-line animation which illustrates how this works. This link is included in the Bat Webquest for Kindergartners. Then head outdoors to play a game that demonstrates echolocation. Find a open area and look it over carefully for hazards. Remove any potential hazards and have the students form a circle. Choose one person to be the bat, place him/her in the middle and blindfold him/her. Then choose another student to be an insect. The insect moves inside the circle. The bat says "echo" and the insect replies "location". Based on listening for the insect's replies, the bat tries to tag the insect. When the bat tags the insect, allow two more children to act out the parts. To make the game more difficult, allow several children to be insects at the same time. You may notice the similarities to the game "Marco Polo" upon which it is based.
  

A K-1 Bat Theme

Bats 4 Kids

Kinder Korner
Going Batty

Kindergarten
is Just Batty

Bats!

Learn About Bats!