Billy Bat's Quest
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Theme: The interaction of animals with their environment has an effect on people. Myths about bats are not always true. Learn how bats are beneficial to people.
Title: Billy Bat's Quest
Contributors: Dianne Stratton
Melissa Smith
Katerina Zervas
Marie Kelley
Ruth Nelson
Grade Level(s): [K] [1] [2]
Age Level(s): 5-8
Subject Areas: English Language Arts
Science and Technology/Engineering
Unit Goals: Students will be able:

1. to convince their classmates that bats are benefical animals and are not mysterious and/or scary

2. gain experience in navigating the web

3. research using websites and other sources to organize and analyze information

Links to District Curriculum: Content Outcomes:
SmartEDU, Inc. - TriTec, Inc. - CTI-RDB
  • Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify the basic facts and main ideas in a text and use them as the basis for interpretation. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the themes, structure, and elements, of myths, traditional narratives, and classical literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will write with a clear focus, coherent organization, and sufficient detail. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will organize ideas in writing in a way that makes sense for their purpose. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of the information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the conventions, elements, and techniques of film, radio, video, television, multimedia productions, the Internet, and emerging technologies, and provide evidence from the works to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and purpose of nonfiction or informational materials and provide text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure, elements, and themes of myths, traditional narratives, or classical literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will use self-generates questions, note-taking, summarizing, precis writing, and outlining to organize information in preparation for writing. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the conventions, elements, and techniques of film, radio, video, television, multimedia productions, the Internet, and other technologies, and provide evidence to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify and analyze how an author appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the themes, structure, and elements of myths, traditional narratives, and classical literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will write with a clear, coherent organization, and sufficient detail (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will organize ideas in writing in a way that makes sense for their purpose. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will describe, analyze, and use appropriately formal and informal English. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify and analyze how an author appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the themes, structure, and elements of myths, traditional narratives, and classical literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. (English Language Arts)
    		•
  • Students will use knowledge of standard English conventions in their writing, revising, and editing. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions. (English Language Arts)
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  • Students will design and create coherent media productions (audio, video, television, multimedia, Internet, and emerging technologies) with a clear controlling ideas, adequate detail, and appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and medium. (English Language Arts)
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    Technology Outcomes:
    SmartEDU, Inc. - TriTec, Inc. - CTI-RDB
  • Use basic technology terminology.
  • Abide by the district's Acceptable Use and Internet use policies.
  • Publish work in accordance with school or district guidelines.
  • Demonstrate how and when to turn hardware on and off.
  • Open and quit applications.
  • Save a file to a disk, desktop, and hard drive.
  • Retrieve a saved file (from a directory).
  • Rename a file.
  • Demonstrate proper keyboarding skills.
  • Demonstrate basic word processing techniques.
  • "Format text by selecting from size, style (bold, italic, underline), and font options."
  • Save selections.
  • Apply the basics of the Internet.
    • Materials/Resources:
    • Computers
    • Questions About Bats Chart
    • Kidspiration(optional),
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader
    • Real Player Basic
    • Printer & printer paper
    • Crayons/markers
    • Nonfiction books about bats
    • Binding materials for book
    • See Resource Page for handouts
    Timeframe: 10 (Hours)
    Student Foundational Skills: 1. Students should use a mouse appropriately.

    2. Students should use the keyboard and other computer components appropriately.

    3. Students should know how to type a sentence or paragraph on a word processing program.

    4. Students should know how to complete a graphic organizer.

    Learning Activities and Organizational Notes:
      1-1.5 hours
    Activity
    Activity 1: The unit was designed for non-readers(K) to be teamed with readers (Gr.2). If this is not possible, teachers or aides should assist the non-readers.

    Teacher will model how to navigate the webquest, being sure to tell students to click on the image of "Billy Bat" to activate audio.

    Groups will view National Geographic video or slide show about bats. This will be a general introduction for the students. After viewing, the entire class will discuss and pose questions about bats.

    Organizational Notes
    Students will be working in cooperative learning groups or pairs for entire webquest. Divide your students into groups that will equally represent all bats, grouping readers with non-readers.

     

      2 hours
    Activity
    Activity 2: Groups will explore six myths about bats. After they have read all six myths, they will complete a graphic organizer listing each myth.

    Organizational Notes
    It is best to break this up into 2 sessions to retain the attention of young children.

    If you have the Kidspiration program, the children can choose the template and complete the organizer on the computer. If you do not have the program, choose the PDF file in order to print the graphic organizer for the children.

      2 hours
    Activity
    Activity 3: Groups will learn various facts about six different bats. After they have read all the facts, they will complete a graphic organizer listing the bat facts.

    Organizational Notes
    It is best to break this up into 2 sessions to retain the attention of young children.

    See Activity 2 for completing the graphic organizer.

     
    Activity
    Activity 4: You will help each group or pair of students pick a different good bat fact. The students will choose the appropriate word processing program to type their group's fact and names. They will print these facts out.

    Organizational Notes
      1 hour
    Activity
    Activity 5: Groups will illustrate their fact which they printed during Activity 4. The pages will be put together and presented as a class book.

    Organizational Notes
    The book could be bound or you could purchase pre-bound books.

    Student presentation of book and evaluation should be done at a later time.

     
    Activity
    Adopt a bat

    Organizational Notes
    Assessments: Students will be assessed using a checklist rubric. (See Evaluation on PBU)

    Teacher's Notes: The unit was designed for non-readers(K) to be teamed with readers (Gr.2). If this is not possible, teachers or aides should assist the non-readers or allow students to click on Billy to hear the text. Be sure that students understand that ONE click on Blly is sufficient (no double clicking).