Keeping Them Curious: Bat Edition
(This bat facts email was sent on October 8, 2023.)
October is flying along, and I’m back with the third installment in this new “Keeping Them Curious” series. This time our topic is BATS! Read on for facts, links, and more!
Keeping Them Curious is an email series for teachers who are passionate about actively engaging students in thematic learning. I’m posting the email content here for those who might like to have a place to revisit each theme. If you would like to receive this content by email, please let me know below!
Did You Know? Bat Facts for Your Class
Here are some fascinating bat facts you can use to wow your students!
🦇 When most people think about the fastest mammal on Earth, the cheetah pops to mind. It was recently discovered, though, that the Mexican free-tailed bat can fly up to 100 mph in short bursts. That’s 25 mph faster than the cheetah! (Read more about how bat speed is studied here.)
🦇 There are several collective nouns for groups of bats, including colony and cloud. My favorite, though, is cauldron, chosen to describe the swirling motion of bats through the air!
🦇 There are over 1400 species of bats in the world! If you’re in the U.S., you can use this site to learn which bats live in your state.
🦇 The smallest bat, the bumblebee bat (or Kitti’s hog-nosed bat), weighs less than a penny!
🦇 A species of megabat called the giant golden-crowned flying fox is probably the largest bat on Earth. Its wingspan can be close to six feet!
Find 30 videos you can use to supplement your bat unit in this new blog post!
🦇 Are you ready to bring your bat theme into your math instruction? This new set of easy-prep math puzzles covers four skills: numbers 1-10, numbers 11-20, 2D & 3D shapes, and beginning addition (with sums through five). Find this set on TPT or in the My Happy Place Shop.
This time-saving bats & owls thematic unit includes an informational PowerPoint and all sorts of engaging printable activities and teaching tools. It’s really a one-stop shop! You can find it on TPT here, or in my website shop by clicking through below.
Bats and Owls Unit with PowerPoint
This “All About Bats and Owls” thematic unit includes an informational PowerPoint slideshow and printable materials to help you integrate learning about owls and bats into science, literacy, and math in your primary classroom. You will download a zipped folder containing a PowerPoint File and a PDF.
Thanks for all you do to keep the kids curious! I’d love it if you’d comment below or send me an email to let me know what other themes you’d be interested in seeing. 💙
Fall Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes
This set includes ideas and printable materials for 5 fall-themed fine motor activities. Each task is designed to fit into a standard plastic pencil box and includes a printable label, picture directions, and other materials (such as work mats or task cards). The tasks in this set target preschool and kindergarten literacy and math concepts.
Fall Paper Tearing Activity
This fall paper tearing activity comes with 12 themes in several variations! Children build their fine motor skills while filling these tear art templates. Choose the level of complexity that’s perfect for your students and the amount of time you want to fill.
