Preschool Science Experiments, Lessons and Activities » Bats

Bats – Preschool Lesson Plan

Lisa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:18:13 +0000

Begin your lesson by reading one or more of the following books, then continue with a group discussion.

Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats by Ann Earle
Bats – Creatures of the Night by Joyce Milton
Bat Loves the Night: Read and Wonder by Nicola Davies

Why we need bats? A single bat can eat 1,200 insects per hour. Bats that don’t eat insects help distribute fruit seeds and pollen. Scientists say over 95 percent of the rain forest regrowth can be contributed to bats.

• Difference between a bird and a bat – Bats are mammals. They have live babies. Bats don’t lay eggs. Birds have feathers. Bats have a thin layer of skin called a membrane. Birds sleep at night. Bats sleep during the day.
• Life-cycle of a bat – pup (baby), adult – baby bats stay with the mother for one year.
• Where do bats live? – On every continent except Antarctica.
• What do bats eat? – 70 percent of bats eat insects. Some species eat fruit, nectar, meat, fish and animal blood.

Chart of Bat Facts

There are almost 1,000 species in the world. Forty live in the U.S. and Canada.

Bats are the world’s only true flying mammal (flying squirrels don’t fly, they glide).

Some bats are brown, but others are gray, yellow or red.

Bats are not blind, but use echolocation to find food at night.

Bat babies are called pups. A mother bat has only one or two babies each year.

They live in family groups called colonies.

Bats are not rodents.

Half the bats species in the U.S. are threatened or endangered.

Activity: Batty song

Lisa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:42:49 +0000

Materials:
Kids

Procedure:
1. Sing the following song to the tune “Frere Jacque”.

Bats are sleeping
Bats are sleeping
Upside down
Upside down
Sleeping in the daytime
Waiting for the nighttime
Fly around
Fly around

Discussion:

Talk with the class about the myths surrounding bats. Explain that bats are not blind, they don’t drink people’s blood and they won’t land in people’s hair. Explain that bats help people by eating nighttime insects like mosquitoes.

Game: How do bats find food?

Lisa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:38:08 +0000

Materials:

Kids
Four Maracas

Procedure:

1. Ask students to stand close to each other in a circle
2. Select one child to be the bat
3. Blindfold the “bat”
4. Select four students to be insects and give them each a rattle
5. Have the bat say “beep”
6. The insects respond with a short rattle
7. The bat repeats beep and the insects repeat the rattle until found by the bat
8. Select a new bat and new insects

Questioning: Explain how the sound a bat makes echoes and that the bat follows the echo to the insect. Ask students what they use their ears for each day.

Art project: Egg carton bats

Lisa — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:24:03 +0000

Materials:

Egg cartons cut into sections of three cups
Crayons
Black Yarn cut into 10 inch lengths

Procedure:

1. Cut the front out of the two exterior egg carton cups to resemble wings
2. Punch a small hole in the top of the middle cup
3. Allow children to color their egg carton bat and draw a face
4. Poke yarn through hole in middle cup and tie or tape underneath

Discussion:

Remind the children that even though most of the bats they see in pictures are brown, bats can also be gray, yellow or red.