Stellaluna By Janell Cannon (1993). A fruit bat is separated from her mother and has to survive with a family of birds, mimicking the behavior of this different species.
I would use this book as an online interactive read aloud with a first grade class, focusing on the following standards:
- NGSS LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms: Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive. (1-LS1-2)
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.7: Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
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I would use this online read aloud to focus on the behaviors of young birds and bats and how they survive.
After the students finish the online read aloud, they will be asked some questions about the book which will check for their understanding.
After the students have completed the form and we are ready to transition into the next lesson, I would create a picture dictionary with the students about bats and birds such as echolocation, what they eat, why they hang upside down etc. and then have the students complete a venn diagram to compare and contrast behaviors of young bats and birds. We would also brainstorm as a class questions we still had about bats after reading the book and then use additional lessons to read other informational books about bats and draw, write, and share new ideas about bats with the whole class.
This book will build background knowledge of features of a bat (mammals, thumbs, fur, echolocation, nocturnal) would allow for conversation about types of bats (some bats eat fruit, some eat bugs, where do bats that eat mangos live?) as well as predators and prey and why the owl attacked the bats…)
Integrating literacy and science helps students understand the purpose of reading and writing (to learn and share ideas) and using books to learn science gives context for learning vocabulary such as ‘echolocation.’