Stellaluna WebQuest

Stellaluna:

"The Big Bat Hunt"

A WebQuest for 2nd Grade Reading and Science

Heather Hunt Lisa Pinedo Emily McLennan

hedley7@aol.com hunney71@hotmail.com emilym@nts-online.net

Stellaluna and "The Big Bat Hunt" has now begun! You and your classmates must reveal the secret life of the mysterious creature known as the bat! Find out where these mammals live, as well as what they eat, and how they survive in this wild world. You are in for quite an adventure so prepare to enter the world of the bat!

Task

During your hunt you will do the following:

Observe where in the world bats live and explore a bat cave
Sniff out what kinds of foods bats eat
Examine what bats look like
Gain knowledge of bat facts to stump your friends
Read about bat myths and folklore
Compare bats to birds and chart your findings
As a team, create your own Stellaluna story using what you have discovered about bats

Process

1. Listen to your teacher read Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.

2. Break into teams of three or four students to begin exploring the Internet through this WebQuest.

3. Stellaluna was a very special bat that lived in a bird's nest. Actually, bats can live anywhere. Find out more about bat homes here: Bat Homes.

4. Explore deep dark caves by looking at pictures from real caves at: Bat Cave.

5. You will not believe what bats eat! Find out what fills their tummies at: Bat Food.

6. What do bats look like? Notice this fuzzy creature's unique appearance. Bats have fingers! Look at those ears! See the bat at: Bat's Body.

7. Are vampire bats real? What do you know about huge bats with six-foot wing span and bats that weigh less than a penny? Discover these facts and more at: Bats: Did you know?....

8. People all over the world have views and beliefs about bats, but are they true! Find out the truth at: Bat Myths and Folklore.

9. Bats fly, but are they birds? Take a look and chart your discovery of the differences between the two at: Bats and Birds.

10. You have completed "The Big Bat Hunt". Now use your new knowledge to continue the story of Stellaluna. With your teammates, write and illustrate your own book based on your exciting bat facts. You may choose to use Stellaluna or create your own bat hero. Be ready to share your story with the class.

Evaluation

Your team will be graded on:

finishing the above process
using facts gained from the Websites to create an informative chart describing the differences between bats and birds
writing a creative and educational story about bats