Bat Puzzle
BAT PUZZLE
Purpose:
Bats are puzzling creatures. They are one of nature's most beneficial, harmless, and intriguing mammals. There are nearly 1,000 kinds of bats, comprising nearly a fourth of all mammal species. Learn about the valuable role that bats play in the ecosystem.
Created by: Kelly McCowin
GGUSD
Resources Needed:
Access to the Internet.
Your Task:
Visit the sites below to learn more about bats.
Basically Bats - bat facts
List 10 interesting bat facts.
Take a virtual field trip to the Carlsbad Caverns.
Radar follows bats in Texas as they gorge on crop pests.
For fun facts, to see a video, and hear vampire bats.
What are some misconceptions about bats?
What is the value of bats in the ecosystem?
Why do you think bats have a negative image in some people's minds?
With what mammals are bats most closely associated?
Here is a word puzzle to test your knowledge.
Create a crossword puzzle to help others increase their understanding and dispel myths about bats.
Related Links
Bat Film
Enrichment
Visit The Buzbee Bat House. Demonstrate your knowledge by creating a PowerPoint presentation.
A Few Internet Resources:
Sheppard's Science Resources
Sheppard's Useful Links
Email: kckwin@aol.com
Created August 16, 2002
Last Revised August 16, 2002
Teacher Notes
Suggested Grade Level: 4 to 12
Science Content Standards: Note the following are examples.
S.C.O.R.E. Lessons Standards Search by Grade and Subject
S.C.O.R.E. Standards and Framework
California Content Standards Grades K-12
California Content Standards Grades K-12 - Science - PDF Format
Science-Grade 4-Life Sciences
3c Many plants depend on animals for pollination and seed dispersal, while animals depend on plants for food and shelter.
Science-Grade 4-Life Sciences
2b Producers and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are related in food chains and food webs, and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem.
Science-Grade 4-Life Sciences
3a Ecosystems can be characterized in terms of their living and nonliving components
Science-Grade 6-Earth Sciences
5a Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis, and then from organism to organism in food webs.
Science-Grade 6-Earth Sciences
5c Populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem.
Science-Grade 6-Earth Sciences
5e The number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.
Science-Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12-Life Sciences
6b How to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in climate, human activity, introduction of non-native species, or changes in population size.
Science-Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12-Life Sciences
6c How fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are determined by the relative rates of birth, immigration, emigration, and death.
Science-Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12-Life Sciences
6d How water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic matter in the ecosystem and how oxygen cycles via photosynthesis and respiration.
Science-Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12-Life Sciences
6e A vital part of an ecosystem is the stability of its producers and decomposers.
Science-Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12-Investigation and Experimentation
1i Analyze the locations, sequences, or time intervals of natural phenomena (e.g., relative ages of rocks, locations of planets over time, and succession of species in an ecosystem).
Background:
Students need a basic background in lab procedures, cooperative team (timekeeper, supplies, clean-up) and a basic understanding of plants (roots, stem, leaf, flower).
Skills:
(Examples)
Interpreting data, making inferences, forming hypotheses, making predictions, graphing.
Presentations -PowerPoint or Hyperstudio.
Computer literacy.
Effective use of Internet resources.
Assessment:
(Examples)
Presentations -PowerPoint or Hyperstudio, student created web page, worksheet, peer evaluation, rubric
Enrichment:
Bat Math Quiz
Students will solve bat-related math problems, and then draw and write conclusions based upon their answers.
Written Resources:
The Bat House Builders Handbook.