Tamara DeYoung

12/3/14

Field Trip Plan

Community Resource Information Sheet
Site / Speaker:

Cranbrook Institute of Science

Street Address: 39221 Woodward Avenue

City, State, Zip: Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801
Telephone: 248.645.3200 Web site and/or e-mail: science.cranbrook.edu
Field Trip Information
Description:
The field trip will consist of two bat related tours at the Cranbrook Institute of Science. The two
tours are described below.
BAT ZONE TOUR
GLCE ZONE PK - 12
Take a personal, behind-the-scenes tour with a bat expert at the Bat Zone and experience bats in
flight, flying squirrels, owls, a two-toed sloth and the largest species of bat in the world. Students
also meet a colony of Vampire bats! Learn about these unique nighttime animals as you explore
this nocturnal wildlife sanctuary.
BATS OF THE WORLD
GLCE ZONE 2 - 12
Bats play an important role in the health of local and global ecosystems. Students learn to
identify the unique features of bats around the world such as echolocation, flight and feeding
habits. Understand how environmental changes are impacting bat populations. Meet live bats and
become inspired to protect these misunderstood creatures.
Specific Science Benchmark(s) targeted by field trip:
Grade Band Endpoints for LS1.A
By the end of grade 2. All organisms have external parts. Different animals use
their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves,
move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants
also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive,
grow, and produce more plants.
Fees:
Price per student: $$14

Chaperones: One free chaperone per 5 students or $10.

Advance Notice Required? Yes
Available Times:
Mid-June August
Monday - Saturday 12:30 and 2:30pm
Length of Tour:
Each session is 45 min

Age Group Range / Limits: 2nd- 12th grade

Group Size Limit: Minimum of 20
Guides Available: Guides lead each tour

Dining Facilities: Yes, $5:00 lunch (ordered before by teacher, or bring your own)
Restroom Facilities: Yes, but preferred before or after each presentation.
Adult/Student Ratio Required: This is not a requirement, but one chaperone is admitted free
for every five students in grades 1 and higher.
Special Needs Accommodations:
There are no specific accommodations made, but there is a section to let the staff know of special
needs. They are willing to help in any way they can.

Letter to Parents
Hello Parents!
Our classroom is taking a field trip to Cranbrook Institute of Science for two programs
on bats! In our science lessons we will be learning about the basic need of animals and how
different types of animals meet those needs. We are doing a unit on bats, students will learn how
bats use echolocation to catch their pray instead of seeing their pray with their eyes. They will
also learn about the shelters bat use and how they differ from that of birds. To reinforce their
learning, we will be attending the Bat Zone Tour and the Bats of The World presentation. The
students will meet bats face to face and learn about bats from the experts!
Contact information:
Cranbrook: 248.645.3200,
Ms. DeYoung: 586.123.4567, teacher@email.com
Price: $20 lunch included Money is due Monday, May 25th- No exceptions!
Location: 39221 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801
Date: June 2, 2015
Time: Bus will depart at 12:00 pm and will arrive back at 3:30 pm.
Events:
BAT ZONE TOUR
GLCE ZONE PK - 12
Take a personal, behind-the-scenes tour with a bat expert at the Bat Zone and experience bats in
flight, flying squirrels, owls, a two-toed sloth and the largest species of bat in the world. Students
also meet a colony of Vampire bats! Learn about these unique nighttime animals as you explore
this nocturnal wildlife sanctuary.
BATS OF THE WORLD
GLCE ZONE 2 - 12
Bats play an important role in the health of local and global ecosystems. Students learn to
identify the unique features of bats around the world such as echolocation, flight and feeding
habits. Understand how environmental changes are impacting bat populations. Meet live bats and
become inspired to protect these misunderstood creatures.
Specific Science Benchmark(s) targeted by field trip:
We need volunteers to chaperone our field trip! Please E-mail or call me if you are
interested in joining us! We need at least 2 chaperones to come along. The cost for
chaperones is 15$ dollars- Lunch included

Before Lesson:
Before this lesson will be started the students will have already learned about the basic needs of
people. They will take a pre-assessment on the basic needs of animals to see what they know
about this subject. We will then discuss how animals have need as well. We will make a list of
basic needs that animals and then watch the bat video. This is a short introduction to basic needs
to get the students thinking about what bats need to live and how they fulfill those needs. This
will prepare them for the field trip by giving them some information to process in order to ask
questions and make connections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tykwBvqZ0
During Lesson: Echolocation
While we are at the center, there are some activities that include echolocation. After lunch, we
will regroup before the next program. We will split up into groups with one chaperone in each
group. The students will participate in a discussion on how they think bats hunt in the dark and
echolocation works. I will already have given each chaperone some questions to guide the
conversation if it gets off track. They would be aware to redirect the students conversations and
not give them the answers. The second session introduces the idea of echolocation in more detail.
This conversation will get the students thinking about the topic so they are prepared to learn.

Post Lesson Plan

Stellaluna- Basic Needs
1

Purpose of Activity:

Overview
This lesson is the closing to a three part lesson. The focus is on how animals all have basic needs,
yet use different means to meet those needs. In Stellaluna, a last baby bat gets taken in by some
birds. The bat tries to live how the birds do, but struggles as she is very different from them.
After reading the book, the students will fill out a graphic organizer to sort the qualities of a bat
from those of a bird. The lesson will end with a discussion on how bats and birds all have basic
needs, but have different ways of meeting those needs.
Misconceptions
The students may think that birds and bats share more characteristics than they do.
Question
How are bats different from birds?
Lesson Objectives
Students will understand that all animals have the same basic needs.
Students will understand that animals have different ways of meeting those needs.
Students will be able to name the characteristics of a bat
Students will be able to describe how a bat hunts.
2

Target Learning Group [Age(s) or Grade Level(s)]:

2nd Grade

Approximate Time Involved:

10 min
45 min

Science Content Background Information for Teacher:

Diet
70%ofbatsconsumeinsects,sharingalargepartofnaturalpestcontrol.Therearealsofruit
eatingbats;nectareatingbats;carnivorousbatsthatpreyonsmallmammals,birds,lizardsand
frogs;fisheatingbats,andperhapsmostfamously,thebloodsuckingvampirebatsofSouth
America.
Population
Whilesomebatpopulationsnumberinthemillions,othersaredangerouslyloworindecline.
Range

Batscanbefoundalmostanywhereintheworldexceptthepolarregionsandextremedeserts.
Behavior
EcholocationSomebatshaveevolvedahighlysophisticatedsenseofhearing.Theyemitsounds
thatbounceoffofobjectsintheirpath,sendingechoesbacktothebats.Fromtheseechoes,the
batscandeterminethesizeofobjects,howfarawaytheyare,howfasttheyaretravelingand
eventheirtexture,allinasplitsecond
Batsfindshelterincaves,crevices,treecavitiesandbuildings.Somespeciesaresolitarywhile
othersformcoloniesofmorethanamillionindividuals.
OverwinteringTosurvivethewintersomespeciesofbatmigrate,othershibernate,andyet
othersgointotorpor(regulatedhypothermiathatcanlastfromafewhourstoafewmonths).
Reproduction
Gestation:40days6months(biggerbatshavelongergestationperiods)
LitterSize:Mostlyonepup
Fortheirsize,batsaretheslowestreproducingmammalsonEarth.Atbirth,apupweighsupto
25percentofitsmothersbodyweight,whichislikeahumanmothergivingbirthtoa31pound
baby!Offspringtypicallyarecaredforinmaternitycolonies,wherefemalescongregatetobear
andraisetheyoung.Malebatsdonothelptoraisethepups
5

Next Generation Science Standards/Science Frameworks Involved:

Crosscutting
Structure and function: The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure
determine many of its properties and functions.
Patterns: Observed patterns of forms and events guide organization and classification, and they
prompt questions about relationships and the factors that influence them.
LS1.A
Bytheendofgrade2.Allorganismshaveexternalparts.Differentanimalsusetheirbodyparts
indifferentwaystosee,hear,graspobjects,protectthemselves,movefromplacetoplace,and
seek,find,andtakeinfood,waterandair.Plantsalsohavedifferentparts(roots,stems,leaves,
flowers,fruits)thathelpthemsurvive,grow,andproducemoreplants.
6

Materials:
Venn Diagrams- one per student
Pictures of caves with bats and birds in nests- one per class
Projector
Assessment sheet- one per student
Privacy shields

8. Safety Considerations:
There are no safety considerations
9. Lesson Resources:
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/lesson-plans-grades-1-2/102180-the-basic-needs-ofanimals-first-grade-lesson/
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/investigating-animalsusing-nonfiction-187.html?tab=4#tabs
http://www.defenders.org/bats/bats
http://science.cranbrook.edu/
http://www.batworlds.com/
SCIENCE INSTRUCTION
StepbyStep
1

Pre-Assessment/Diagnostic Assessment
The pre-assessment would have been done in the pre-lesson plan.

Inquiry Procedures:

Engage
1. Tell the students to come to carpet for a discussion and read aloud.
2. Reflect upon the field trip to see the bats. Ask the students what some of their favorite
things were. Keep this conversation short, but get the kids thinking about their
experience.
3. Read the book Stellaluna, by Janell Cannon
4. Stop several times to talk about the differences between bats and birds. Why cant the
baby birds fly at night?
5. After the read aloud, have the students go back to their seats.
6. Hand out a Venn Diagram worksheet to each of the students.

7. Explain that bird and bats are the same in some ways and different in some ways. We are
going to organize their qualities.
8. Give one example for each section. Birds- Eat bugs, Both- Need food, Bats- Eat fruit

9. Have the students come up with as many characteristics for each group as they can. Each
student should have at least 3 qualities for each section on their own.
10. Discuss how birds and bats have the same basic needs, just like other animals. They need
food, water, air and shelter. Talk about how the bird and bat both meet these basic needs.
Have students share from their Venn Diagram.
11. Ask the students what shelters birds and bats use. After they answer, show pictures of
how birds shelter themselves and how bats shelter themselves: nests and caves.
3

Evaluate/Post-Assessment/Summative Assessment
1. Tell the students to sit at their desks
2. Have the student assigned to hand things out give each student a privacy shield.
3. Hand out the assessment sheet and tell the students to write their name on their paper,
but not to start writing.
4. Tell students that they will be working alone and not to start until you finish reading the
instructions.
5. Read the instructions out loud, ask if any students have any questions, then read the
question aloud again.
6. Give the students 20 min to write.
7. Remind the students to write their name on the top and collect their assessments.

References
BioExpedition. (2013). Bat Facts and Information. Retrieved from http://www.batworlds.com/
Cranbrook Institute of Science. (2014). Cranbrook Institute of Science | Michigan's Museum of
Natural History. Retrieved from http://science.cranbrook.edu/
Defenders of Wildlife. (2014). Bats | Basic Facts About Bats | Defenders of Wildlife. Retrieved
from http://www.defenders.org/bats/bats
Hamner, D. (2014). Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research ReadWriteThink. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroomresources/lesson-plans/investigating-animals-using-nonfiction-187.html?tab=4#tabs
Martin, P., & Finn, W. (2012). A Lesson Plan on the Basic Needs of Animals: For Grades 1-2.
Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/lesson-plans-grades-1-2/102180the-basic-needs-of-animals-first-grade-lesson/
National Research Council. (2012). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices,
Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas | The National Academies Press. Retrieved from
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165