Bats

Backyard Wildlife

by Kari Schuetz

When nighttime comes, bats fly out of trees, caves, and barns to begin their hunt. Some make high-pitched calls, and then they wait and listen. Echoes will lead them to their prey! Learn how bats sleep upside down, use sound to find prey, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Allison]

Summary: The story of this non-fictional text titled, Bats, contains a series of facts about the characteristics, diet, environment, communication skills, etc. of the nocturnal nature of bats. Students will gain a great amount of knowledge on the important facts about bats, and will learn their eating habits, sleeping nature, their strategies to catching their prey, as well as their communication abilities during the night.

Evaluation: Personally, I found this book to be a terrific introduction of the nocturnal nature of bats. The text provided students with real-life photographs of bats and provided a basic outline for how bats interact and engage within their environment. This informational non-fiction text is aa great leveled-reading book for the early elementary grades.

Teaching Idea: I would implement this particular text within my classroom, by utilizing this text as a research text for students to create a non-fiction text, using information they have gathered from their research within the text. Students will write down on a graphic organizer of the dietary needs of bats, their environment, their communication abilities, family information, etc. Students will then distribute the information from the graphic organizer, to a non-fiction text they will create all about bats, including text features, such as a glossary, photographs, text boxes, etc.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book and others like it in the series are great for younger school aged kids. We have used these in the first and second grade classroom to help with their "first" research book reports. There is not too much information where the child will be overwhelmed and the information isn't silly either. I think that these books are great for beginner readers. These are also AR books for anyone who might want to know. I would recommend these books to others.

[Courtney Vandiver]

Summary: This book contains multiple facts about bats. Students can learn all about what bats eat, how they sleep, how they catch their prey, and how they communicate.

Evaluation: This book is a great introduction to bats. It is a very basic book with real pictures. It is a great informational book that could be used in a kindergarten or first grade classroom as it is a leveled reading book.

Teaching Idea: I would use this book in a kindergarten classroom. I would read this book to students when we are discussing nocturnal animals which is a kindergarten standard. After reading this book to students I would have them read the book with partners and pretend as though they are bats while they are reading. The students would draw their own bats and write two facts that they learned about bats.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy to me, interesting for my son. The book has a lot of great facts with real life pictures of bats and where they live. Great informational text.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear information and great photographs for young elementary students.

[Jordyn Styskal]

Bats by Kari Schuetz
1. Bats at the Library by Brian Lies, 2008

2. I selected the fiction book, Bats at the Library, because it complimented the animal in my nonfiction book selection. This past year in my classroom, students were very interested about a variety of animals. In this nonfiction book it talks about where bats live. My twin-text selection would also engage readers because the setting is in a library where bats don’t belong.

3. Nonfiction Text structure: description, this book is very factual and provides a variety of information through short paragraphs regarding the table of contents in the front of the book.
Twin-Text Strategy: Venn diagram, I would have students compare and contract activities in both books to identify what the stories do and do not have in common. This will provide a better understanding of the definitions of nonfiction and fiction texts.

4. (2012, September 15). Booklist. http://www.booksinprint.com.leo.lib.u...#

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of bats is also a wonderful resource of general information about bats. This book is written where bat vocabulary is in bold print, so when doing the unit on bats and introducing new terms it can be pointed out in the book more visibly. This book is a level 1 reader, and if there are any children that are starting to pick out words this book could be a help. It is written in very simple words, only a few on the page with a photograph to identify what is being said. The photographs are clear and not at all scary, in fact the bats are really cute. This book can be utilized during storytime, and see if the children can use any of the new terms they will be introduced too.