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Unit 07 - Going a Little Batty 1.
Bat Words - Scientific Terminology 1. Bat Words - Scientific Terminology Scientists use Greek and Latin words to name animals and describe their physical features and what the animal eats. The Bat Words activity introduces young readers to scientific terminology concerning rainforest bats. Materials
Write each of the following Greek and Latin words on a card. On the back of each card write the meaning of the word in English. You may need to make multiple sets of each card.
Hand out the cars to groups of children. Ask them to form words which have the following meanings. This activity develops the concept of word stems which are put together used to create scientific terms which are used all over the world. Word stem: HAND WINGS Word stem: SMALL HAND WINGS Word stem: LARGE HAND WINGS Word stem: INSECT EATING Word stem: MEAT EATING Word stem: FRUIT EATING Word stem: ONLY EATS FRUIT
2. Bat Words in Different Languages The following table is compiled from published sources. This information is a starting point to introduce children the concept of how bats are named in different languages. The table also includes words for cassowary, the ground dwelling bird, which is another keystone species in North Queensland rainforests. Without bats and cassowaries, the Wet Tropics rainforests would be very different. Your local elder, or their nominee, can help you fill in the gaps and add to this list. Contact your elder through the Land Council (see Resources section).
Materials
Children choose a rainforest bat species to research. There are enough species of bats in the Wet Tropics for every child in a class to choose a different bat. This activity develops understanding of bat diversity. Non-readers: Assist each child to choose a species of bat from the table below. Load up the Bats in Australia, Australian Museum Online site on the computer. URL:http://australianmuseum.net.au/Australian-bats Collect pictures of rainforest bats from textbooks. Ask each child to draw a portrait of their chosen bat, representing the bat’s features and colours. Hang each portrait in classroom to create a Wet Tropics Bat Gallery. Readers: Children choose a species of bat from the table below. Each child finds out more about “their” bat by searching for its picture and species information on the web or in reference books. Early readers will need assistance with informational texts. Each child draws a portrait of “their” bat and writes a short informational piece on their bat describing where it lives and what it eats. The pictures and writing are collated to make Wet Tropics Bat Book for the classroom. Find My Bat develops foundational research skills as children use factual resources to locate bat images and learn special bat facts. Look in Resources for useful texts and websites to support this activity. Bat list The table lists the common name and scientific name of 6 different species of Megabats and 24 different species of Microbats found in North Queensland. Scientific names are made up from a Genus name, which is capitalised and a species name, which starts with a small letter. Usually, Greek and Latin stems are used to create a scientific name.
Make like a Bat encourages children to think, act and be like a bat. Bats are intelligent mammals able to learn complex tasks and are highly social animals (just like human children). However, many bats have features humans consider unusual, such as large feathery ears, strangely shaped noses, little legs and membranous wings evolved from elongated fingers. In this activity, children explore bat flight through dramatic play. Materials for Wings
Bat play Bats fly with their hands. The purpose of the sticks is to give children the sense of elongated fingers. Keep the thumbs free. Attach sticks to the four fingers on each hand with tape. Attach wing material to the tip of each stick end on the right hand when the child holds her/his finger are held apart. Stretch the material over the child’s back then fasten to the tip of the sticks attached to the child’s left hand. Peg the material to the child’s collar. Children experiment with their wings, flapping their hands and imagining what it is like to fly like a bat. Children crawl on the ground using their thumbs and knees for balance and imagining what it is like to have short little legs and no fingers. Children will generate their own questions and ideas about what it is like to be a bat.
5. Make like a Bat – Ears and Noses Microbats have large, complex ears. In this activity, children use common materials to create a bat headdress or a bat face mask. Children imagine what it would be like to have big ears and different noses. Bats with distinctive ears and noses
Materials
Bat play Locate images of bats with distinctive ears and noses. As a class, look at each image and discuss why the bat has a big convoluted ears and/or a distinctively shaped nose. Using available materials, each child makes a headdress or face mask representing a rainforest bat. Children then hold a Bat Parade wearing their creations. Photograph each child and collect these images for a Bat Parade folder.
This activity introduces children to the concept of identifying direction using sound rather than sight. It can be conducted safely in the classroom or in an undercover area. Materials
Gather the children in a large circle with plenty of room in the middle. Put a blindfold on one child and place them in the centre of the circle. This child is ‘the blind bat’ who has to use their sense of hearing to locate sounds coming from the circle. Distribute instruments to children forming the circle. If instruments are not available, ask children in the circle to click their fingers, clap or sing. Start by asking one child at a time in the circle to make a loud sound and a soft sound. Ask the child in the centre to point in the direction of this sound. When the child in the centre is comfortable identifying individual sounds, ask two or more children in the circle to make sounds at the same time. Ask the child in the centre to point in the direction of the different sounds. This emulates a Microbat trying to locate an insect or spider in a forest only using sound. Children take turns being ‘the blind bat’ in the centre of the circle. Afterwards, discuss with children what it felt like to locate direction using their ears rather than their eyes.
Class discussions initiate and consolidate learning. To begin Going Batty, brainstorm what children know about bats. Sample questions:
To conclude Going Batty, brainstorm what children have learned about bats. Sample questions:
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