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BAT JAMBOREE
By Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
(HarperCollins, 1996)
Classroom Ideas
One of my family's favorite outings when I was a child was a trip to
the drive-in picture show. We'd all climb into my uncle's Oldsmobile and
watch John Wayne and Doris Day from the comfort of his car. My sisters
and I almost always fell asleep before the end of the double feature.
However, one night while I was still awake, I noticed something flapping
around by the light on the tall fence surrounding the parking area. I
knew it wasn't a bird, but it seemed too large to be a moth. When I pointed
it out to my uncle he informed me that it was a bat.
A bat! Immediately images of Count Dracula filled my head and I shivered
despite the warm night.
So, for my whole life since that night bats and drive-ins have gone together.
Nowadays there aren't very many drive-ins left. Only a few abandoned structures
that rise out of the middle of empty fields. Wouldn't one of these make
a perfect venue for a "bat jamboree"?
MATH
Obviously, this is a counting book--a batty one at that! Not only can
it be used for counting from 1 to 55, however, but also it offers a great
opportunity to introduce sets. Ms. Sweet has done a great job of grouping
these winged entertainers.
What other kinds of acts might the bats do? In one school that I visited
the students in one classroom made a bat pyramid on their bulletin board.
The ten bats on the bottom row did the Macarena!
Don't miss the opportunity to talk about pyramids!
Have your students create their own counting stories using different
animals.
MUSIC
- Teach your students how to do the "Cotton Eyed Joe." The
steps are easy and it's a load of fun.
- Find a couple of CDs of Opera Music. Listen to actual opera stars
singing their final numbers.
- The "nine" bats are all singing in a chorus. Since they're
all in tuxedos we can assume that they're in an all male chorus. Listen
to some barbershop choruses. Find a recording by the Singing Cadets
from Texas A&M and listen to that.
- The "two" bats are "flappers." See if you can
find some pictures of actual flappers from the 1920s. How has dancing
changed since then? What about the fashions?
- Have a tap dance exhibition. If you have a local dance school nearby,
invite the teacher to come do a demonstration. Check out a Ginger Rogers
and Fred Astair movie for some good examples of fabulous tap dancing.
Don't forget "White Christmas," with Bing Crosby and Danny
Kaye--talk about tapping!
- The "six bats" have a little jazz combo. Find some good
examples of jazz featuring the instruments that our bats are playing--flute,
saxophone, drums, trumpet, bass and fiddle. What famous person plays
the saxophone?
- Put on your own Jamboree!
LANGUAGE ARTS
- Use this book to show examples of alliteration, i.e. "dazzling
display," "reeling and whirling wingtip to wing," "seven
bats balanced seven balls on their noses," etc…
- Look for other examples of wordplay-"wingsprings," "batflips,"
"acro-bats."
- The last line of course is a pun based on an old idiom. Use this as
a springboard for discussing puns and idioms. My sister-in-law thought
up a baseball game in which the "game isn't over 'til the bat lady
swings."
SCIENCE
When I was growing up most of what I "knew" about bats was
really hearsay. There were lots of myths--that bats would get tangled
in your hair, that they would suck out all your blood, that you would
turn into a vampire if bitten, that they were blind. None of these were
flattering to the bats and all of them gave me the creeps.
Nowadays we're much more enlightened about bats and the important ecological
roles they play in our environment.
Contact BAT
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL in Austin, TX or visit them on their Web
site for the most up-to-date information about bats. Your class can
even adopt a bat from them.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Drive-in movie theaters used to dot the landscape and played a prominent
role in the cultural life of many small towns. In cities, they often ran
first-run movies. As daylight savings time moved the dark hours back and
air conditioning spoiled us, these icons of the theater world slowly faded
away.
Vaudeville, the kind of entertainment that the bats are engaged in, is
another "lost" performance art. Have your students study these
and other types of entertainment that are no longer in existence. Go to
the library and look in theater and movie history books for examples.
What kinds of entertainment have survived? Storytelling? Elocution? Puppetry?
Mime? What kinds of entertainment have taken their places?
If you have any other good ideas for using this book, please send them
to me care of Harper Collins Children's Books., 1350 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10019 or email
Kathi Appelt
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