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| Questions And Answers Question??? from Cheri Keys, Brookville Area Schools, Brookville, PA Our science book mentions bats but doesn’t go into much detail. Do you have any batty ideas about activities and children’s books? Answer!!! by Ken Mechling, Clarion, PA Children love to study bats! Most are a little frightened of them because they have heard such stories as-they fly into people’s hair (not something I have to worry about!), they are vampires and suck blood, and they bring bad luck if found in your house. The study of bats can turn such fears into interest, fascination, and a desire to learn more. Let me begin by recommending several teacher resource books that are among the best. First is Bats Incredible, an AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) activity book literally chock full of bat information and activities organized into lessons that teachers find easy to use. I have used many of them myself and they are good! Bats Incredible is appropriate for all grade levels, K through middle school. This excellent resource is available from the AIMS Foundation for $16.95. Ordering information can be obtained from the AIMS web site www.aimsedu.org or by calling 1-888-733-2467. The second reference is from a section entitled “Bats” in Ranger Rick’s, NatureScope book, Amazing Animals, Part II. While the Bats section is only 12 pages long, it is nevertheless, an excellent reference. Included is general information on bats, an echolocation simulation game called “Bat and Moth” which is included in our Sci-Lit Links QuickPlan on Sounds, a bat trivia quiz, and a few bat poems. The entire NatureScope series is excellent, one of teachers’ favorites as a science resource. Ordering information is available from Acorn Naturalists, www.acornnaturalists.com or 800-422-8886. A third teacher activity book is Bats by Ann C. Cooper, published by the Denver Museum of Natural History, 1994. ISBN 1-879373-52-1 This book engages children in lots of crafty activities like building a bat box, constructing a three-dimensional bat cave, and making flip books to observe a bat in flight. There are also excellent children’s books on bats to link with the many activities found in the teacher resource books. Several of these are: Bats: Creatures of the Night by Joyce Milton, Grosset and Dunlap, 1993. ISBN 0-448-40193-2 Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, Harcourt Brace and Company, 1993. ISBN 0-15-280217-7 Bats by Cella Bland, KidsBooks Incorporated, 1997. ISBN 1-56156-599-7 What Is A Bat? by Bobbie Kalman, Crabtree Publishing Company, 1999. ISBN 0-86505-895-4 Bats: Mammals That Fly by Marlene Sway, Grolier Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-531-15943-4 So, there you are Cheri. Spread your wings and go hang out with bats. |
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