Here are some very cool bat facts from the Nature Conservancy.
Douglas Florian
The Bat
In this playful poem about bats, students will identify examples of alliteration and rhyming words.
By Douglas Florian
From the October / November 2017 Issue
Learning Objective: In this playful poem about bats, students will identify examples of alliteration and rhyming words.
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Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras
Bat Facts
The Flying Fox
Check out this great video from National Geographic about the biggest bat in the world: The flying fox. Your students might be shocked to learn (as we were!) that bats with a 6-foot wingspan actually exist!
Related Content
If your class loved this poem, try Douglas Florian’s book “Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings.” It’ll also tie in beautifully with the prehistoric theme of out paragraph power!
A Batvocate?
Editor Anna Starecheski has become a bit of a bat advocate ever since learning more about them while writing an article. She wants your students to know that even though bats are associated with Halloween and other spooky things, you shouldn’t be afraid of them! Many bats here in the U.S. eat flying bugs such as mosquitos, which helps us out in those buggy summer months. And the ones that don’t eat bugs eat fruit and are important pollinators. These odd creatures help us out a lot!
More About the Article
Key Skills
Alliteration, interpreting text, inference, imagery, author’s purpose
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. PREPARING TO READ
Set a Purpose for Reading (25 minutes)
Begin by reading the “Alliteration” bubble for the class. Prepare students to listen or look for alliteration in the poem. Discuss how repeating a letter sound might make a poem more interesting.
Students can explore alliteration by completing an alliterative statement using the first letter of their name. For example: “My name is Lisa and I’m a lion. I like to leap!” Once they’ve completed the task, ask: Do you think creating alliteration is easy or difficult? Why?
2. READING AND DISCUSSING
Read the poem for the class or play our audio version.
Project or distribute the close-reading and critical-thinking questions and discuss them as a class.
Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions (15 minutes)
- Why does the author think the bat is “batty as can be”? (inference) A bat sleeps all day and is active during the night. It also sleeps upside down.
- What are some examples of alliteration in this poem? (alliteration) The bat is batty as can be, . . . sun sets in the sky, . . . rises from its rest . . . , . . . mobile mammal mugs a myriad . . ., and . . . batty bat . . . are examples of alliteration.
- In lines 5 and 6, what is the author using alliteration to describe? (interpreting text) He is using alliteration to describe how the bat flies around all night catching a lot of bugs.
- Why do you think the author flipped the letters of the last line in this poem? (author’s purpose; imagery) The author made the last line upside down to highlight the fact that bats sleep upside down and to help us visualize it.
- Why do you think the author flipped the letters of the last line in this poem? (author’s purpose; imagery) The author made the last line upside down to highlight the fact that bats sleep upside down and to help us visualize it.
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