Bat-tastic: Exploring Bats and Habitats
SHARE
Learn all about bats and the wildlife biologists who study them in this career activity sheet. Designed to be printed as a front-and-back handout and written for upper elementary students, the activity sheet shares some bat facts and tips to help bats near you. On the second page, kids learn about wildlife biologists and assess an outdoor location for its quality as a bat habitat.
SHARE
Standards addressed in this Activity:
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a set of K-12 science education standards emphasizing inquiry-based learning, real-world applications, and integrating engineering practices, aiming to deepen understanding of science while promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
-
ESS3.C-E1
Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments.
-
LS1.C-E1
Food provides animals with the materials they need for body repair and growth and the energy they need to maintain body warmth and for motion.
-
LS1.D-E1
Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions.
-
LS2.A-E1
The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plant parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.
-
LS2.C-E1
When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die.
-
LS4.D-E1
Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.
The Common Core Standards are educational benchmarks in the United States that outline clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade, aiming to ensure consistency and coherence in education nationwide.
-
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
-
By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
-
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
-
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
-
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
-
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
-
By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
-
Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text.
-
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
-
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
-
People, Places, and Environments
Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer
-
This worksheet is one of two career activity worksheets on bioluminescence. Designed to be printed as a front-and-back handout and written for upper elementary students, the worksheet explains bioluminescence in...Living Lights: Spotting Bioluminescent Fungi
This worksheet is one of two career activity worksheets on bioluminescence. Designed to be printed as a front-and-back handout and written for upper elementary students, the worksheet explains bioluminescence in... -
This worksheet is one of two career activity worksheets on bioluminescence. Designed to be printed as a front-and-back handout and written for upper elementary students, the worksheet explains bioluminescence in...Living Lights: Spotting Bioluminescent Fireflies
This worksheet is one of two career activity worksheets on bioluminescence. Designed to be printed as a front-and-back handout and written for upper elementary students, the worksheet explains bioluminescence in... -
This two-page worksheet is perfect for outdoor classrooms or visitor centers. Geared towards upper-elementary students, learn more about the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid and explore the fascinating career of being...Woolly Watchers: Spotting Forest Invaders
This two-page worksheet is perfect for outdoor classrooms or visitor centers. Geared towards upper-elementary students, learn more about the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid and explore the fascinating career of being... -
Hibernating bat populations across the Eastern United States have suffered declines since the 2000s. Little brown bat populations have declined 70 percent or more. Populations of the northern long-eared bat...Cave Conundrum: Is White-Nose Syndrome Responsible for All Declining Bat Populations?
Hibernating bat populations across the Eastern United States have suffered declines since the 2000s. Little brown bat populations have declined 70 percent or more. Populations of the northern long-eared bat... -
A Distance Learning Adventure brings bat conservation to life through webcasts, webinars, and online education resources. Bats are vital to healthy ecosystems and human economies worldwide. As primary predators of...Bats LIVE
A Distance Learning Adventure brings bat conservation to life through webcasts, webinars, and online education resources. Bats are vital to healthy ecosystems and human economies worldwide. As primary predators of... -
The scientists in this study were interested in knowing whether humans and other animals can help disturbed areas of land to become healthy ecosystems again. A mining company in Brazil...The Trees Have Gone Batty! How Bat Scat Helped Restore a Tropical Forest
The scientists in this study were interested in knowing whether humans and other animals can help disturbed areas of land to become healthy ecosystems again. A mining company in Brazil...
