Primary Chalkboard: BATS & Symbaloo

Matt here, from D:D&C. It's October, which means Halloween and all things fall and that means it's time to share a little BAT knowledge. That's right, one of our most misunderstood animals that has gotten a worse rap than sharks.

Now, we're teachers--so of course we've done all our work and have told students how great they are? We even understand that they're powerful bug killers that can take out more than a 1,000 in a night...especially mosquitoes because those things are worse than the plague. So we know all this, but do our students. Maybe? Bottom line. Bats are great.

So how do you teach your students about bats? I really try to tie in technology which is why I use Symbaloo boards with direct links to all the information I want them to learn.

Here's my most recent one ONLY ABOUT BATS:

Symbaloo tiles are an easy and effective way for me to share online resources with my students. They click the tiles and see the site. Boom!

Here's the direct links for this one:

http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/halloweenbats

So what content is on this board...
-20+ sites
-9 links to videos on bats that vary from National Geographic to Bat Sanctuaries.
-Information articles from Halloween symbolism to fact sheets.
-Even 4 read aloud books on bats.

I LOVE Symbaloo! It allows for diverse content and allows kids (even some teachers) to practice navigating and problem solving with technology.

If you're looking for a project have your students make Bat Houses. A simple shoe box makes a great diorama for bats, and also allows for great class discussion on their importance.