The Fascinating World of Bats: 5 Easy Bat-Themed Activities for the Elementary Classroom
The age old question—are bats creepy or are they cute? Ask your students and we’re sure you’ll get lots of differing responses. Bats, often associated with Halloween and spooky tales, are a perfect subject for elementary classroom activities. These flying mammals are not just creatures of the night; they’re fascinating and important parts of our ecosystem.
In this blog post, we’ll explore bat-themed activities that go beyond the dark and mysterious, revealing the incredible world of these creatures, while providing fun and educational opportunities for young learners.
Whether you’re a teacher looking for engaging ways to integrate science, literacy, and creativity into your lessons or a parent seeking enriching activities for your children, these bat-themed activities will be fun for adults and kids alike. Check them out below and grab a FREE Vampire Bats article!
Bat Cave Classroom Transformation
Turn your classroom into a bat cave with a few simple decorations, bat sounds, and lots of bat-themed activities! Start your day of activities by filling out the bat shaped chart above. Find out what prior knowledge your students have. Then add new learning, as well as any misconceptions, to the chart throughout the day. Take a look at how Fun in First transformed her classroom for this fun day!
Bat Brownie Bites
These bat brownie bites from Practically Homemade are the perfect treat to go along with a day of bat-themed activities. All you need are some brownie bites, frosting, and Oreos to help your students create this cute snack!
Stellaluna STEM Activity
One of the most well-known books about a bat is Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. This story is about a young fruit bat who is separated from her mother. She experiences life from a different point of view, and eventually learns about what makes her special as she and her mother find their way back to each other. This sweet story is beloved for a reason.
Read the book with your students or have them watch the read-aloud from Storyline Online here. Then, follow it up with the flapping bat wings STEM activity shown above from Teach Beside Me. Your students will love creating their own flapping wings by using just the template, tape, and straws. Check it out here!
Vampire Bats Research Article
Vampire bats are the types of bats that are probably the most characterized as “scary”. However, though their diet of blood can be considered gross, they are not known to harm other creatures. Have your students research the habitat, diet, appearance, and behavior of vampire bats by reading the article above and answering the questions. Grab it for free by clicking the button below:
Bat Facts Art and Writing Craft
The month of October is the perfect time for a bat-themed craft. There are so many fun and easy ways for students to show their creativity. In the craft above from Tunstalls Teaching, students tear construction paper to create a cute piece of art and then pair it with a paragraph with facts about bats.
Have your students read about bats or watch this video full of interesting bat facts to help them complete the writing portion of the activity.
We can pretty much guarantee that any of these bat-themed activities will be a hit with your students. After your class has learned more about bats, poll them again to see if any of their opinions about these often misunderstood animals have changed. Some of your students might even claim to like these intriguing and fascinating creatures of the night!
Interested in more fun activity ideas for the Fall season? Check out our blog post below:
