Lessons & Units :: Bat Loves the Night 1st Grade Unit

Read-Aloud Lesson: Bat Loves the Night

Lesson Plan

Bat Loves the Night | 560L

Bat Loves the Night
Learning Goal
Identify Bat’s physical characteristics and behavior to build students' knowledge of bats in nature.
Duration
Part 1: Approximately 20 minutes
 
Part 2: Approximately 10-15 minutes
 
Part 3: Approximately 10-15 minutes
Necessary Materials

Provided:
1. Detailed lesson plan
2. Graphic organizer for guided practice
3. Independent student worksheet

Not Provided:
Bat Loves the Night

 
  1. This lesson is a close reading of the entire text. So it’s important to engage students often, to enhance their learning. Here are two tips:

    •   When you ask the more complex questions from the lesson, ask students to “turn-and-talk” or “buddy-talk” before answering.

    •   Once you are deep into the lesson, instead of asking students every question provided, ask them to share with you what questions they should be asking themselves at that point in the text. This is also a great opportunity to use "turn-and-talk."
       
  2. Suggested teacher language is included in the lesson.

  3. We recommend you read the book once to your students, either the day or morning before teaching the lesson.

  4. This research-based, read-aloud lesson may seem long. Why do students need the lesson to be this way?
 

Part 1: Teacher Modeling and Questioning

 

Write the following student-friendly learning goal on the board, then read the learning goal out loud with the class: 

We will learn important information about how bats live in nature. 

 
Prepare Students for the Lesson
 
Review the Echolocation Fact Sheet provided with students. Before continuing with the lesson, make sure students understand that bats use echolocation to locate and identify different things in their surrounding area. This allows bats to find their way in the night and hunt for food.
 
Transition Students into the Text
 
Teacher says: We just learned that bats use echolocation to find their way in the night and hunt for food. Now we are going to read about a bat and what she does during the nighttime.
 
Read the two introductory paragraphs on page 3, or the first page with text. They begin with "Bats are the only mammals..." and end with "...Europe, Asia, and Australia."
1.
Teacher says: The bat we are going to be reading about today is a pipistrelle bat. The book will be giving us important information about pipistrelle bats throughout the story about Bat.
 
Read pages 6 and 7 out loud, then stop. Page 7 ends with, “...skin of the wing.”
2.
Teacher says: The book has just told us a lot about what Bat looks like. Let’s make sure we got all the important details.
3.
Teacher asks: Bat does not have arms and hands like people. What does Bat have instead?
 
Students answer: Bat has wings.
4.
Teacher asks: Is Bat large or small?
 
Students answer: Bat is small.
5.
Teacher says: Bat is no bigger than your thumb. Let’s read on to find out more about what Bat looks like and what she does.
 
Read pages 8-11 out loud, then stop. Page 11 ends with, “...the nighttime garden.”
6.
Teacher asks: First Bat was hanging upside down. What is Bat doing now?
 
Students answer: Bat is flying.
Read more
 
Read page 12 out loud, then stop. Page 12 ends with, “...more useful than eyes.”
7.
Teacher asks: Is it light or dark outside when Bat is flying?
 
Students answer: It is dark outside when Bat is flying.
8.
Teacher asks: If it is dark outside when Bat is flying, is Bat flying during the daytime or during the nighttime?
 
Students answer: Bat is flying during the nighttime.
9.
Teacher says (models thinking): The book says that Bat does not need to see in the darkness. Bat can hear where she is going in the dark. I wonder what it means to hear where you are going. Let’s see if the book explains as we read on.
 
Read pages 14 and 15 out loud, then stop. Page 15 ends with, “All is still...”
10.
Teacher says: Now we know how Bat can hear where she is going. Let’s make sure we understand how she makes a sound picture.
11.
Teacher asks: What is the first thing Bat does when she flies to create the sound picture?
 
Students answer: Bat shouts.
12.
Teacher asks: Bat shouts, sending out her voice all around her. What happens to the sound of her voice after she sends it out?
 
Students answer: The sound of Bat’s voice echoes, or comes singing back to her.
13.
Teacher says: When Bat’s voice comes back to her, it brings a sound picture of everything it touched. That sound picture shows her what her surroundings look like.
 
Read page 16 out loud, then stop. Page 16 ends with, “...below her.”
14.
Teacher asks: What is a moth?
 
Students answer: A moth is a type of insect.
 
If students do not know what a moth is, tell them.
 
Read pages 17-19 out loud, then stop. Page 19 ends with, “...even blood!”
15.
Teacher asks: What does Bat catch and eat?
 
Students answer: Bat catches and eats a moth.
16.
Teacher asks: What are some other things that bats eat?
 
Students answer (may include any of the following): Bats also eat flies, gnats, mosquitoes, fruit, fish, frogs, and blood.
 
Read pages 20 and 21 out loud, then stop. Page 21 ends with, “...broken tile.”
17.
Teacher asks: We read the sky is getting light. Let's look at the illustration on pages 20 and 21. Notice how the sky is turning reddish. Based on this illustration, what is probably rising in the sky as the sky is getting light?
 
Students answer: The sun is probably rising in the sky as the sky is getting light.
18.
Teacher asks: So what time of day is it?
 
Students answer: It is morning time.
19.
Teacher asks: Where does Bat go as the sky is getting light?
 
Students answer: Bat goes under the roof.
20.
Teacher asks: Why does Bat go under the roof as the sky is getting light?
 

Students answer (may vary but should resemble the following):

  • Hunting time has run out.
  • The dark will soon be gone.
 
Read pages 22-25 out loud, then stop. Page 25 ends with, “...their own food.”
21.
Teacher asks: After Bat flies under the roof, she goes to her baby bat, or batling. What does the batling drink?
 
Students answer: The batling drinks its mother’s milk.
22.
Teacher says: Like humans, bats drink their mother’s milk when they are babies.
 
Finish reading the book.
23.
Teacher asks: We just read that bats are nocturnal. What does "nocturnal" mean?
 
Students answer: Nocturnal means they rest by day and come out at night to search for food.
24.
Teacher asks: Think about what Bat does throughout the book. What actions and details show us that she is nocturnal?
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • Bat goes outside and catches an insect at night.
  • Bat goes to sleep when it gets light outside.
25.
Teacher asks: This book has given us a lot of information about what bats do and how they behave. What are some of the things that Bat does in this story?
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • Bat goes flying at night.
  • Bat makes a sound picture to hear where she is going.
  • Bat catches and eats a moth.
  • Bat gives her baby milk from her body.
 

Part 2: Guided Practice and Discussion

 
For this oral lesson, it is suggested to have the completed graphic organizer on the board with the answers concealed. After students provide a correct answer, reveal the corresponding answer on the graphic organizer.
1.
Teacher says: In the first part of this lesson we learned a lot about the pipistrelle bat. We learned what it looks like and many of the things it does. Now we are going to take that information and put it into a chart.
2.
Teacher asks: Let’s start by making a list of everything we learned about what Bat looks like. What does Bat look like?
 

Students answer:

  • Bat has wings.
  • Bat is the size of your thumb.
  • Bat has fur.
 
Make sure the first two answers are given, as they were addressed in Part 1. If students remember other details, add them to the list.
3.
Teacher asks: Now let’s make a list of all the things Bat does in the book.
 

Students answer:

Bat goes flying at night.
Bat makes a sound picture to hear where she is going.
Bat catches and eats a moth.
Bat gives her baby milk from her body.

Read more
 

Continue accepting answers until students run out. If students struggle, ask questions A-E below.

A) Teacher asks: Does Bat go flying?

Students answer: Yes, Bat goes flying.

B) Teacher asks: Does Bat go flying during the daytime or during the nighttime?

Students answer: Bat goes flying during the nighttime.

C) Teacher asks: In the dark, does Bat see where she is going or hear where she is going?

Students answer: Bat hears where she is going.

D) Teacher asks: What does Bat catch and eat in the book?

Students answer: Bat catches and eats a moth.

E) Teacher asks: What does Bat give her baby?

Students answer: Bat gives her baby milk.

 

After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed and discussed with the class, ask the following two discussion questions.

 
Teacher asks: Bat’s baby spends the night inside with other baby bats. When Bat’s baby grows up, what will it probably do at night? Support your answer with details from the book.
 

Students answer (may vary but should resemble the following):

  • Bat’s baby will probably fly outside and catch insects. That is what Bat does at night, and her baby will probably do the same things.
  • Bat’s baby will probably fly outside and catch insects. The book says that baby bats learn to fly after a few weeks. It also says that once baby bats learn to fly, they can go out at night to find their own food.
 
Teacher asks: Think again about how a sound picture is made. First Bat sends out her voice. Then it comes back to her. When it comes back, it carries a sound picture of all the things around her that it touched. Why are good ears more useful than good eyes for Bat in the dark?
 
Students answer: Bat uses sound pictures and listens to find her way in the dark. She doesn’t need to see where she is going, but she needs to hear.
 

Part 3: Student Independent Practice

 
Read each question out loud to your students and have each student complete the worksheet independently. For questions 5 A) and 6, you can have students draw their answers, answer orally, or write their answers depending on your students’ progress. If you have them write their answers, you may want to write the word(s) on the board for them to copy. Question 7 is a class discussion question.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

Thank you for the time and effort put forth in your lesson plan and Unit exercises. I will introduce this lesson throughout the week. Our first stop will be the library on Monday morning. Hopefully, the book will be available.

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Submitted by Barbara Hanson on 9/18/13