Bats in My Backyard

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=56 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="011a0a03.jpg"> <div> Bats in My Backyard</div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=135 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="21fa0c01dduajq.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Educators Science and Math Institute Ser"><U><B>Educators' Science and Math Institute Series</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About the Series"><U><B>About the Series</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goals"><U><B>Goals</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Institutes"><U><B>Institutes</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="lesson_plans_prepared_by_esmis_participants_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lesson Plans"><U><B>Lesson Plans</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id138.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photo Albums"><U><B>Photo Albums</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm"><U><B>Search</B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ed.mtu.edu/search.htm"><U><B> ESMIS</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=424 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Bats in My Backyard</B></div> <div> Kerry Kostamo</div> <div> Science Teacher</div> <div> Hancock Public Schools</div> <div> 501 Campus Drive</div> <div> Hancock, MI 49930</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:kostamo@hancock.k12.mi.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:kostamo@hancock.k12.mi.us"><U><U>kostamo@hancock.k12.mi.us</U></U></A></div> <div> 906.482.7613 (home)</div> <div> 906.483.2540 (school)</div> <div> 906.483.2539 (FAX)</div> <bR> <div> Last spring I was listening to the program "Radio Expedition" on Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR, June 5 and 6, 2000) and I heard the name of the town where I live and teach mentioned. My ears perked up and I turned the volume up. This two-day episode titled, "A New Home for Bats" was about the conservation of bat habitat. My students and I live in a once-booming copper mining community. The old mine shafts are great habitat for bats but also a dangerous playground for thrill-seekers. The mine owners and bat biologists teamed up to close off the mines to humans but left them open to bats. Thinking about how excited I was to hear our community mentioned on the radio, I thought this would be great to use in the classroom. I decided to write a mini-unit on bats that I could use at the beginning of the school year for a fairly new class called Integrated Science that we offer at Hancock High School for tenth grade students.</div> <bR> <div> When I have overheard students talk about bats, it has been about how to kill them or some tall-tale about a relative who was attacked by one. The fears that we have about bats can cause humans to behave irrationally when a bat is near (Tuttle, 1988). I wanted to teach students about the biology and ecology of bats and to dispel some of the myths associated with bats. Then we could learn about the role that mine shafts in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan play as bat hibernaculums and do some related community service and education.</div> <bR> <div> By completing this unit, students understand the importance of bats in the ecosystem. They also understand the impact that humans have on bat populations. Theses objectives relate to the following Michigan Curriculum Framework Standards for science.</div> <div> II.1.5. Evaluate alternative long range plans for resource use and by-product disposal in terms of environmental and economic development.</div> <div> III.5.4. Describe responses of an ecosystem to events that cause it to change.</div> <bR> <div> There are a lot of lesson plans about bats available for elementary and middle school. I wanted to write a unit that would interest high school students and challenge them. I chose to adapt some of the lessons already available and then add activities. There are tons of cool and interesting facts about bats. For example, bats are more closely related to monkeys and humans than rats and mice (Tuttle, 1988). By pulling together the cool information, photographs and videos about bats along with scientific articles about bats, the lessons on bats can be fun and challenging.</div> <bR> <div> The unit involves the following activities:</div> <div> On the first day students are given a pre-quiz and inventory about their attitudes about bats, misconceptions about bats, and understanding of bat ecology. There is an activity in the <U>Educator's Activity Book About Bats</U> (Bat Conservation International, 1991) that can be modified for high school students. A sample copy is attached. Students are then asked to take part of the pre-quiz in the form of a survey and give it to teachers, parents, siblings and peers (attached). I have found that students love to do surveys as long as they remember to do them by the due date. </div> <bR> <div> Once we tally the class and family/community results from the quiz/survey, a presenter comes to the classroom with bats and then discusses bat biology, ecology and bat myths. The Organization for Bat Conservation does a number of live bat programs for a reasonable fee (<A HREF="http://www.batconservation.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.batconservation.org"><U>www.batconservation.org</U></A>).  If a presenter is not available, there is a good video that shows bats in motion and discusses some of the myths and is titled, <U>Bats and How They Live</U> (Sudwestfunks et al, 1987). The organization for Bat Conservation also has videos, books and tapes that can be purchased. Any of the above can be used as a springboard for discussion about bats, how they live and the myths associated with bats. It can also be used as a chance to review the physics of bat flight and how bats use echolocation. As a related assignment, the food web and energy pyramid that students started as part of the pre-quiz can be returned to them and they can add more information.</div> <bR> <div> Once students have a good understanding of basic bat biology, they get a chance to do a literature review (or a mini-review) of the research done on bats and bat habitat. Before students beginning working, the audio portion of the NPR "Radio Expedition" segment on bats and mines can be played and discussed. This two-part segment is short enough to catch students' interest. This program is available on NPR's website. Asking students to read scientific writing can be overwhelming. I have students read short articles or portions of longer papers in groups of two and then they are responsible for summarizing their article for the class.  Before students start reading, we spend time discussing how to read scientific writing. I ask students to be patient, reread the material, discuss what each person thinks the article is saying, ask other groups for help interpreting and/or ask the teacher or aide. Then each team presents the information honestly and talks about information that was unclear or difficult to understand. When students present, they are asked to have some type of visual aid, this helps them to focus their presentation to their peers. Giving each group an overhead sheet and a marker works well. For this activity there is a report available from the DNR about the use a mines as bat habitat (Kurta, 1996). A less scientific report that has some great photographs is available in <U>Nature Conservancy</U> and is titled, "Out of Sight, Out of Mine" (Stolzenburg, 1996). Reports on bats in different locations may be available through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources or the biology department at a university.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The wrap up for the unit is an activity where students demonstrate their knowledge of bats and provide a community service by creating posters that can be put in restrooms in local parks. I stole this idea when I spent a week on Isle Royale backpacking with a group of 18 teachers during the Educators' Ecology Institute put on by Michigan Technological University. On the insides of the doors in the outhouses in the backcountry there were laminated informational posters about various topics: from the importance of allowing forest fires to burn (how Smokey the Bear actually did a disservice) to a drawing of a local bird species and information about its songs. Students work individually or in pairs to create a poster about some aspect of bats that they think would be important for the public to know. Using the information obtained from the surveys done on the first day is a good way to utilize the information that the students collected. Another option is to ask students to take the scientific information they read and make the information accessible to the public on a poster. This is a way to promote the importance of mines as bat habitat. The posters can then be laminated and placed in restrooms of parks (with permission). I had to do some pleading to get the manager of a local park to allow us to do some posting. Posting in outhouses was preferred over posting in modern facilities.</div> <div> As a final evaluation, students will be given back their original pre-test and asked to change answers and add information where appropriate. For any of the true/false and multiple-choice questions, students are required to provide rationalizations for choosing the answers.</div> <bR> <div> Once the unit is complete, students not only gain knowledge about bats but also appreciate their significance. Once students have an appreciation for bats they have the opportunity to take action. Showing students that they have the power to influence others (especially adults) is often a time when I see a sparkle in their eyes. Even outhouses can provide teachable moments and sparkles!</div> <bR> <div> REFERENCES</div> <bR> <div> Bat Conservation International. 1991. Educator's Activity Book About Bats. Austin, Texas. Bat Conservation International.</div> <bR> <div> Kurta, Allen. 1996. Preliminary Survey of Bats Hibernating in Mines of the Upper Peninsula. A Report to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.</div> <bR> <div> National Public Radio. June 5 and 6, 2000. Morning Edition. "A New Home for Bats." Online. http://www.npr.org/programs/RE/archives/index_bats.html.</div> <bR> <div> The Organization for Bat Conservation. 2000.Online. www.batconservation.org.</div> <bR> <div> Stolzenburg. September/October, 1996. "Out of Sight, Out of Mine." <U>Nature Conservancy</U>. Arlington, Virginia. The Nature Conservancy.</div> <bR> <div> Sudwestfunks, Baden-Baden. 1987. <U>Bats and How They Live</U>. Chatsworth, California. Video. AIMS Media. </div> <bR> <div> Tuttle, Merlin. 1988. America's Neighborhood Bats. Austin, Texas. University of Texas Press.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Bat Pre-Quiz </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I>(adapted from Educator's Activity Book About Bats)</I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> True or False</div> <bR> <div> ____1. Bats swoop down and become caught in people's hair.</div> <div> ____2. Bats are the only kind of mammals that can fly.</div> <div> ____3.Bats are flying mice.</div> <div> ____4. Bats are blind.</div> <div> ____5. Most bats carry rabies.</div> <div> ____6. If you see a bat on the ground during the day it might be sick.</div> <div> ____7. There are really bats that feed on blood.</div> <div> ____8. Bats produce several litters a year, like mice.</div> <div> ____9. Bats have hands with fingers.</div> <div> ____10. A single bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in an hour.</div> <bR> <div> 11. Bats around the world eat which of the following things: (circle all that apply)</div> <div>      fruit          nectar          insects          fish          blood</div> <div> 12. The biggest bat in the world has a wingspan of approximately what size:</div> <div>      0.3 meters     1 meter     2 meters     10 meters</div> <bR> <div> 13. The smallest bat in the world is the size of what animal:</div> <div>      ant          mouse          guinea pig          bumblebee</div> <div> 14. Worldwide there are about _____ different species of bats:</div> <div>      10          100          500          1,000</div> <div> 15. In the United States there are about ______ species of bats:</div> <div>      5          10          40          100</div> <div> 16. Of the following mammals, bats are most closely related to:</div> <div>      mice          otters          humans     rats</div> <div> 17. Bats are found in which of the following places: (circle all correct answers)</div> <div>      tree holes          caves          attics          plant leaves</div> <div>      bridges               mines          tree bark     rock crevices</div> <div> 18. Bats live in which of the following kinds of areas: (circle all correct answers)</div> <div>      mountains          deserts          rain forests          cities</div> <div>      prairies               wetlands     farmland          polar regions</div> <div> 19. Describe how bats are able to fly.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 20. Describe how bats use echolocation.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 21. Explain the significance of the facial anatomy of bats.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 22. Describe the classification scheme for bats (include kingdom, phylum, subphylum, class and order).</div> <div>  </div> <bR> <div> 23. Draw a food web that includes bats.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 24. Draw an energy pyramid that includes bats.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 25. How are bats significant to people and the environment?</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 26. Why are many bat populations declining?</div> <bR> <bR> <div> 27. How has the mining industry in our area impacted bat populations?</div> <div>      </div> <div> <B>Bat Survey</B> <I>(adapted from Educator's Activity Book About Bats)</I></div> <div> Our class is conducting a survey about bats. Please answer the following questions.</div> <div> True or False</div> <bR> <div> ____1. Bats swoop down and become caught in people's hair.</div> <div> ____2. Bats are the only kind of mammals that can fly.</div> <div> ____3.Bats are flying mice.</div> <div> ____4. Bats are blind.</div> <div> ____5. Most bats carry rabies.</div> <div> ____6. If you see a bat on the ground during the day it might be sick.</div> <div> ____7. There are really bats that feed on blood.</div> <div> ____8. Bats produce several litters a year, like mice.</div> <div> ____9. Bats have hands with fingers.</div> <div> ____10. A single bat can catch 600 mosquitoes in an hour.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>