To inspire critical, place-based literacy in the classroom, I asked my principal to bring a problem to my students' attention. Our principal came and read us a letter from a concerned community member about a little brown bat that was trying to make its home in our school. Students immediately rose to the challenge offering opinions and suggestions. Our principal asked if our class could take on the responsibility of doing some research and problem solving to respond to the letter. Students eyes grew wide as they began to share what they already knew and what some possible solutions should be. Some students agreed with this community member that bats are scary or that a school is no place for them to live, some believed that we should allow the bat to continue, and a few students suggested building a better home for this little brown bat.
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As a class, we began to research little brown bats through videos, virtual zoo tours, books, and using critical thinking skills. Students labelled bat diagrams and the adaptive physical features, they added words such as echolocation, nocturnal, and mammal to the word wall. Armed with new information, we wrote a letter as a class back to the community member. Students decided that the best approach was to educate this person about the benefits of little brown bats and why they need protecting not deterring. Students said they were going to make a home for the bat.
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After a few days, a new letter arrived from our community member. While they were happy with the research, they were still concerned about the safety of having a bat at a school and how exactly we would build a home. Students began to research where bats could live and the features of bat habitats. Students learnt about brown bats that had made their home behind the sign for the Montana Zoo. Students also learnt about how bats choose such small spaces. One student asked why bats would choose somewhere so small to live so we researched the predators and food chain of a little brown bat. When learning about the food chain, students learnt about the circular nature of the ecosystem and how in Indigenous world views all parts of the ecosystem are valued equally. We discussed the different outcomes of seeing animals as equal and more holistically versus as pests or as an up and down pyramid. Gradually students began to understand the need for bats to avoid predators such as owls.
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We discussed Indigenous world views where every living thing is equally important versus a food pyramid. Students notices the circular aspect of the food chain and asked questions like "what would happen if there were no little brown bats?" We wondered if hawks and owls could skip bats and eat mosquitoes instead but students came to the conclusion that without little brown bats there would be too many mosquitoes and therefore would eat more plants leaving less for us to eat. Students also noticed that without little brown bats, owls, and hawks would go hungry. We also researched white nose syndrome due to a fungus brought from European caves that causes little brown bats to wake during hibernation causing many to die. Students decided that we had to convince the community member that little brown bats were an important part of the ecosystem and needed protecting.
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Students had used their critical literacy skills to see a problem from multiple perspectives choosing to protect an endangered species and use their literacy to make it happen. Students learnt from the local environment and saw how the land impacts animals and how animals impact the land. It was an emotional and proud day when we received our bat box and watched our class bat report video with our principal and celebrated all of our hard work. The bat box will be put up in the school naturalization area and will be a safe place for hibernating little brown bats in the local community.
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Planning
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Assessment
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Resources
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Appelhof, M., & Olszewski, J. (2018). Worms eat my garbage: How to set up and maintain a worm composting system. Pownal: Storey.
A non-fiction children’s book detailing how a composting system works and how worms are an essential part of our ecosystems.
Canty, J., & Tucker, K. (2019). Heads and Tails: Insects. Glen Huntly, VIC: Story Box Library.
A non-fiction books containing invertebrates for students to study in class. Students will have pages from the book projected onto the smart board to take “notes” and find diagrams and labels for their chosen invertebrates.
Jenner, C. (2017). All about bats. NY, NY: DK Publishing.
A non-fiction book to be used to demonstrate a research process in order to collect evidence about brown bats.
Markle, S. (2015). The case of the vanishing little brown bats: A scientific mystery. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press.
Both fiction and non-fiction, this book explores environmentalism, animal conservation and protection of brown bats.
Pringle, L., & Garchinsky, K. (2018). The secret life of the little brown bat. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, an imprint of Highlights.
A non-fiction picture book that explores the daily life of a brown bat named Otis.
Wheeler-Toppen, J., & McCartney, M. (2020). This is a book to read with a worm. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
An activity guide for finding and observing earthworms. Provides hands-on experiments for students to take on the role of biologists to answer questions (which end is which? Do worms make noise?) to be used during observation centers.
Book Creator - bring creativity to your classroom. (2020, June 16). Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://bookcreator.com/
A free app and a simple way to make digital books online - on Chromebooks, PCs, iPads or tablets. Create. Read. Publish.
Green, J., & Gordon, M. (2014). Why should I protect nature? New York, NY: Scholastic.
A child friendly book to introduce students to the importance of sustainability and environmental responsibilities of communities.
Inquiry into learning. (2020, April 08). An Inquiry into Inquiry Cycle. Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://inquiryintolearningblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/an-inquiry-into-inquiry-cycle/
A great visual for meaningful and authentic learning. Week 1-3 begins with observations, explorations and discovery. Week 4 and 5 shares ideas and reflects. Week 6 asks what the students can do or change.
A non-fiction children’s book detailing how a composting system works and how worms are an essential part of our ecosystems.
Canty, J., & Tucker, K. (2019). Heads and Tails: Insects. Glen Huntly, VIC: Story Box Library.
A non-fiction books containing invertebrates for students to study in class. Students will have pages from the book projected onto the smart board to take “notes” and find diagrams and labels for their chosen invertebrates.
Jenner, C. (2017). All about bats. NY, NY: DK Publishing.
A non-fiction book to be used to demonstrate a research process in order to collect evidence about brown bats.
Markle, S. (2015). The case of the vanishing little brown bats: A scientific mystery. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press.
Both fiction and non-fiction, this book explores environmentalism, animal conservation and protection of brown bats.
Pringle, L., & Garchinsky, K. (2018). The secret life of the little brown bat. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, an imprint of Highlights.
A non-fiction picture book that explores the daily life of a brown bat named Otis.
Wheeler-Toppen, J., & McCartney, M. (2020). This is a book to read with a worm. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
An activity guide for finding and observing earthworms. Provides hands-on experiments for students to take on the role of biologists to answer questions (which end is which? Do worms make noise?) to be used during observation centers.
Book Creator - bring creativity to your classroom. (2020, June 16). Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://bookcreator.com/
A free app and a simple way to make digital books online - on Chromebooks, PCs, iPads or tablets. Create. Read. Publish.
Green, J., & Gordon, M. (2014). Why should I protect nature? New York, NY: Scholastic.
A child friendly book to introduce students to the importance of sustainability and environmental responsibilities of communities.
Inquiry into learning. (2020, April 08). An Inquiry into Inquiry Cycle. Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://inquiryintolearningblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/an-inquiry-into-inquiry-cycle/
A great visual for meaningful and authentic learning. Week 1-3 begins with observations, explorations and discovery. Week 4 and 5 shares ideas and reflects. Week 6 asks what the students can do or change.