In Search of Stellaluna's Family

Introduction

Students will have the opportunity to explore Stellaluna's world and become bat experts. Students will be asked to identify unique characteristcs, find similarities and differences with other animals, differentiate between fact and myths, and identify contributions bats make to their echosystem.

Content Area and Grade Level

This lesson is designed for grade 4. Its focus is on the areas of life science, language arts, and technology.

Curriculum Standards

National Educational Technology Standards for Students

4.  Select and apply digital tools to collect, organize, and analyze data to evaluate theories or test hypotheses. 

7.  Conceptualize, guide, and manage individual or group learning projects using digital planning tools with teacher support.

Missouri Grade Level Expectations

Communication Arts:

Writing 2.  Compose well-developed text A. Audience and purpose b. Compose text in a format appropriate to audience and purpose

Writing 2.  Compose well-developed text B. Ideas and Context b. Compose text with relevant details/examples

Writing 2.  Compose well-developed text C. Organization and Sentence Structure a. Compose text with a beginning, middle, and end.

Writing 2.  Compose well-developed text D. Word Choice a. Compose text using words that are apecific, accurate, and suited to the topic.

Writing 3.  Write effectively in various forms and types of writing A. Forms Types of Writing b. Compose text using an appropriate format.

Science: 

Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of organisms with their Environment.  1.  Organisms are interdependent with one another and with their environment.  A.  All populations living together within a community interact with one another and with their environment in order to survive and maintain a balanced ecosystem.  Scope and Sequence:  Interactions among organisms and their environment.  a.  Identify the ways a specific organism may interact with other organisms or with the environment (e.g.  pollunation, shelter, seed dispersal, migration, hibernation, defense mechanism).

Changes in Ecosystems and Interactions of organisms with their Environment.  3.  Genetic variation sorted by the natural selection process explains evidence of biological evolution.  C.  Natural selection is the process of sorting individuals based on their ability to survive and reproduce within their ecosystem.  Scope and Sequence:  Interactions among organisms and their environment.  b.  Identify specialized structures and senses and describe how they help animals survive in their environment (e.g.  antennae, body covering, teeth, beaks, whiskers, appendages).Implementation Overview

Each task will require a minimum of 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes to complete. There are 4 computer tasks, the fifth is a writing assignment that does not require the use of a computer. This webquest can be used as a center activity whole-group collaboration of findings after each task. The length of time depends on the number of computers and amount of center time allotted to group.

Credit for Resources

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon