This newly discovered book by Dr. Seuss is about a brother and sister’s visit to the pet store to pick a pet . . . which one will they choose?

Division 10 knows that a bat would not make a good pet.  We learned a lot about bats.  Here’s what some of the children said:

• Bats are nocturnal animals.  They are awake at night and sleep during the day.  We need to sleep when it’s dark.
• Bats live in colonies.  They like to hang out with other bats.  They would not like to be alone.
• Bats are built for flying.  They use echolocation to catch bugs and avoid objects in the sky.  They should not live inside.
• Bats eat a lot of insects.  How could we get enough food for them to eat?
• Bats are wild animals.  They might bite if they get scared.

Great problem solving, Division 10!

 A tiny bat can catch up to 600 mosquitoes in an hour. 

Division 10 has been learning about the difference between fact and opinion.  We know that facts are true for everyone and opinions are beliefs that a person might have.  It was hard for us to understand the difference. 

We found out that many opinions that people have about bats are not true.  Some people think that bats are dirty.  We learned that bats spend hours a day cleaning themselves.  Some people think that bats like to land in people’s hair.  We learned that bats are shy and gentle creatures.  They use echolocation to avoid flying into anything.  Some people believe stories about vampires like Count Dracula.  Dracula could turn into a bat.  He drank that blood of sleeping people.  This is not true.  There are vampire bats, but they don’t drink human blood. 

What is true about bats is that they are an important part of the ecosystem.  Insect-eating bats gobble up millions of bugs.  Many of these insects are pests that could harm people or destroy crops.  Other bats keep forests healthy by spreading seeds and pollen.  This allows trees and flowers to multiply.

Bats are helpful and that’s a fact!

Would a bat make a good pet? 

The students of Division 10 were introduced to problem-based learning.  Problem-based learning is an instructional strategy in which students confront a problem from the perspective of an active participant and strive to find a meaningful answer. 

In order to answer our question about bats, the children needed to find out about the features and behaviors of bats that help them survive in their environment.  They have been doing some research and organizing what they have learned into a thinking web.[metaslider id=2407]

Stayed tuned for more learning!