Share the back
cover of the book and ask the children what type of animal is depicted
there. Point pout the dark sky and moon and see if they think the animals
are birds.
Have
the children do a word web on bats. Be sure that emotions elicited by bats
are included as well as physical descriptions. Share the information from
the "Bat Notes" at the back of the book, including the fact that
there are two major types of bats and nearly a thousand different varieties.
Ask the children if they think that the words they generated in the web
would apply to every variety of bat.
Ask
the children to share any personal experiences they've had with bats.
Discuss
friendship. Possible questions to ask:
Do you have friends that are different from you in some way?
Have your differences ever caused problems?
How did you resolve such problems?
Are there some people that you don't know well, but assume that you could never be friend with them? Why?
Have there been times that you have done something just because everyone else was doing it?
Does it make life easier if you blend in with everyone else?
Have there been times when you felt that you had to go against the crowd and do things your own way?
If
you have the Stellaluna doll, hang it from a piece of yarn or a
wire coat hanger while you read the story. Give the children plenty of
time to examine the illustrations and appreciate their humour,especially
the pictures of the bat and the birds trying to imitate each others behaviour.
Look
again at the word web done before reading. Do the children want to change
it in any way?
Discuss
why Mother Bat didn't know Stellaluna immediately? What clues led her to
identify Stellaluna?
Discuss
the friendship between Stellaluna and the birds. Possible questions to
ask: Will this friendship last? What obstacles might there be to continuing
the friendship? Refer back to the discussion held about friendship before
reading the book and point out any parallels.
Discuss
what might have happen to Stellaluna and the birds if Stellaluna had not
found her mother?
Literature
Discuss
the fact that some animals in children's literature are usually portrayed
as "good", like pigs,dogs, and bears, while others are more often
described negatively, like foxes, wolves and snakes. ask if the children's
feelings about bats have changed since reading this book. How do they feel
about owls, typically? Discuss the owl's role and image in this story.Ask
if the children think sympathetic books about wolves or snakes would help
change their "image" like Stellaluna does for bats? Have each
write a story about a "negative" animal in a positive way.
Social Studies
The
bat has come to be associated with Halloween, along with witches, ghosts,
and black cats, probably on the basis of the vampire bat. Have the children
discuss how they could debunk this bad reputation next October by educating
others about the god things that bats do. Study bats in depth and have
the children present their findings to a younger group of children. Make
drawings and slogans and display them in your local library, classroom,
or even your local zoo. Write letters to the editor of your local paper
about the beneficial aspects of bats.
Discuss
the fact that all bats have come to be feared based on mostly erroneous
stories about the vampire bat, of which there are only three species out
of 800 varieties of Microchiroptera. Talk about stereotyping and how the
seemingly bad actions of a few can led to labels for a whole group. Remind
them to keep this in mind when they hear negative things about any group.
Science
After
reading the "Bat Notes" at the back of the book, have small group
of children choose one of the two major categories of bats and do poster
reports. Or have them select a specific species of bat and do further research.
Their posters should include the scientific name, habits, habitat, usefulness
to humans, and a picture of their bat. If possible, see real bats on exhibit
at your local zoo.
Some
bats navigate by echolocation. Have children research radar and discuss
how these two processes are similar.
Art
Go
back through the book paying particular attention to the two type of illustrations
on each spread. Notice that the tiny pencil drawings above the text tell
the story from Stellaluna's mother's perspective. Discuss how this adds
a new dimension to the story. Have the children illustrate the story again,
this time from Pip, Flutter and/or Flap's point of view.
Reproduced with permission from Harcourt Brace
1997
Updated 11 April 1999.
Maintained by Cherrol McGhee
