1. Bat in a Box (Motivational Set - lesson plan provided)

• Social Studies/Science
  
• pass a sealed box, containing a rubber bat, around the room and have students speculate on what is inside ­ list ideas
  
• reveal what is inside the box and explain that this is the start of a unit on bats
  
• ask the students what they know about bats and write out as a concept web
  
• add historical facts that you know - see Bats the Night Fliers or America's Neighbourhood Bats
  
• challenge the class to discover if the ideas are true or not

BAT IN A BOX
(MOTIVATIONAL SET)

CELs:

• discuss presented ideas in order to better understand the unit under study (C)
  
• develop the use of both intuitive and imaginative thought (CCT)

Materials:

• box with tight fitting lid
  
• rubber bat
  
• historic bat facts (see America's Neighbourhood Bats)

Objectives:
Students will learn that:

• bats are the topic of the next unit of study
  
• there are many myths and superstitions associated with bats

Procedure: Set Induction (10 min.)

• tell class that there is a mystery object, the topic of the next unit of study, in the box you will pass around the classroom
  
• have students guess what is in the box as it is passed from person to person
  
• write the guesses on the board

Main Procedure (15 min.)

• reveal what is in the box (the rubber bat) and start a concept web based on what students know of bats in a brainstorming session
  
• add interesting historical facts/myths that you know

Closure (5 min.)

• explain that this is the start of a fascinating unit on bats that will examine them in many different ways
  
• challenge the class to decide which of the ideas presented in the concept map are true and which are false

Evaluation:

• note the number of myths in the class generated web and ask if the class knew that there were so many myths and legends associated with bats
  
• hand out the Bat-O-Meter to pre-test the students' empathy level for bats (see unit evaluation)