Activities Coloring Pages Word Puzzles Word Treasures Return to the Story
Get ready to discuss, share, play, create, and read your way to developing and empowering a strong character.
Imagine
How would it feel to sleep hanging upside down? Would you like to sleep during the day and be awake during the night? What if people did not understand you because you were a little different?
Story Focus, Virtues, and Life Lessons
Story Focus:
This story focuses on understanding differences, showing concern for the safety of friends, and serving as a thoughtful and effective leader.
Virtues:
Tolerance, Leadership, and Concern for Others
Life Lessons:
Begin the discussion by using the examples in the story to define each virtue.
- Tolerance:
Others believed scary, old stories and were afraid of bats. Nat thought, “People would like us if they knew us better.” - Leadership/Concern for Others:
His friends thought Nat was a great leader. He always seemed to know the best places to find food.Nat tried to look after his friends. He said, “Be careful. Don’t hurt your wings in here. These tree branches are thick. Look out for the large spider webs.”
Magical Moments
Interactive Discussion and Activities
Reading Story Techniques
First, pre-read the story before reading it aloud with your learner. Use expressive language, gestures, motions, and sounds to make the story come alive:
- When Nat, the bat, woke and said he was hungry, have determination and enthusiasm in your voice.
- Continue with the same pitch as he tells his friends they were heading over to the pond first.
- Make a croaking sound for the frogs.
- Change your tone of voice for friends asking where to go next.
- Demonstrate the cat waking and looking up at the bats as they flew over Farmer John’s farm.
- Sound sad or concerned when Nat talks about Mrs. Baker not liking them, and when Nat commented on people being afraid of them.
- Put excitement in your voice as Nat called for his friends to race home. Ask interactive questions for your learner while reading the story.
While Reading
Interject these questions to involve your learner:
- When did the bats wake up and fly from the cave?
- What did the bats like to eat?
- Who saw the bats fly over Farmer John’s house?
- Why did the farmers like the bats?
- Where did the bats go to drink water before flying to their cave?
After Reading
Use the answers to these questions to recall points in the story.
- Why did the bats have to be careful when they were flying through Fire Fall Woods?
Nat tried to look after his friends. He said, “Be careful. Don’t hurt your wings in here. These tree branches are thick. Look out for the large spider webs.” - What other animals were awake in the woods?
A barn owl hooted as the bats flew by her tree. A small rat ran for cover when he heard the sound of the bats overhead. - Why didn’t the bats want to fly by Mrs. Baker’s apple orchard?
One night, Mrs. Baker ran out of her house and tried to hit them with a broom. - Why did Mrs. Baker try to hit the bats with her broom?
Some people thought the bats were a sign of good fortune and happiness. Others believed scary, old stories and were afraid of bats. Nat thought, “People would like us if they knew us better.” - Which animals in the story were nocturnal?
It was twilight on Breakers Island. Other animals were awake in the woods. They were also hunting for food in the night. A barn owl hooted as the bats flew by her tree. A small rat ran for cover when he heard the sound of the bats overhead. - Note: End the discussion by having your learner discuss the meanings of each virtue and give personal examples of where and when they may have taken a leadership position and how they showed concern for others.
Behavior/Social Development (All Ages):
- Learners, especially little ones, are generally free of prejudices. They learn behaviors from the adults or older learners around them. The best way to teach acceptance and tolerance of all people is to be a good role model and to be mindful of comments you make to other adults when your learner is close by.
- Help your learner be aware of instances of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Give examples of such instances. Help your learner know how to respond to such attitudes and behaviors when they see them in action. Television news and entertainment shows, movies and newspapers provide opportunities for discussion.
- Help your learner become aware of and sensitive to other people’s feelings. Share stories of personal experiences where thinking about how the other person felt helped in dealing with any conflicts.
- Teach your learner what they should do: Treat all people the way you want to be treated — with kindness and fairness. Talk about how we all are different from each other in some ways, but we are the same in so many other ways. Discuss personal experiences that led you to know and believe this insight. Ask your learner if they agree with the following statement: Inside we all have feelings and deserve to be happy.
Language Development (Younger Learners):
- Antonyms: in – out, dark – light, find – lose, morning – night, sleep – wake,
sun – moon, up – down, younger – older. Emphasize these words during
the appropriate times. - Identify and explain some of the more unfamiliar words in the story such
as, “twilight”, “nursery”, “insects”, “hooted”, and “crops”. - Identify word patterns: Short A Sounds “– at”
Bolded words, among the following, were used in Twilight Flight — at, bat, brat, cat, chat, fat, flat, hat, mat, pat, sat, slat, scat, that, rat, vat - Use the phrase “On your mark, get set, go” for daily routines that your
learner should be accomplishing independently. (Examples: Getting dressed for school, brushing their teeth, finishing their vegetables, getting into bed for night, etc.) - Ask your learner if they have a friend who is different in some way, such as looks, culture or beliefs, religion, traditions, etc.
- “Leader” or “Follower” — Discuss the meaning of each word. Make up little scenarios and ask your learner if the person in the story is a leader or follower. Example: Mary was the first one to sit in her desk when the teacher asked the class to sit down. Mary is a leader or a follower? Johnny wanted to go to the library to finish his homework but went to play basketball with all his friends instead. Johnny is a leader or follower?
Language Development (Older Learners):
- Introduce the word, “Tolerance.” (Tolerance is the ability to maintain a fair and objective attitude toward others. It allows us to accept and appreciate difference.) Ask your leaner to define it and whether or not they think they have tolerance. Have them provide specific examples and share yours.
- Introduce the word, “Prejudice” and talk about the meaning. Cite some examples of prejudicial behavior that you and your learner have witnessed. Ask how it made them feel.
- Discuss the qualities of true leader: Stays focused, maintains a positive attitude, stands up to peer pressure, makes choices for themselves, asks powerful questions each time they make a mistake or fail, chooses to do their best in everything they do, possesses the power of perseverance, and never gives up, etc.
Making Memories
Discover the values covered in this story through guided activities and fun projects that ensure learner involvement.
Arts and Crafts ideas for Creatively Understanding the Virtues
Arts & Crafts Activities (Younger Learners):
- Helping Hands Wreath
Create a “Helping Hands Wreath.” To emphasize concern for others, create a wreath using traced handprints of your learner glued on a round cardboard template. Before gluing the hand-prints, have your learner write behavioral actions they can do to show acts of concern. Examples: Help out at home, listen to my friend’s feelings, share my toys, help a friend with homework, etc. - Eat Like a Bat
Some bats like to eat fruit and sip nectar from flowers. Set out platefuls of cut up fruit and let learners pick what kind of “bat food” they want to eat. Use hibiscus-flavored drink mix to be the flower nectar for their drink. Have gummy “bug” candy to stand in for the bugs that many other bats like to eat. - Hear like a Bat
Echolocation – the ability to locate objects through sound waves
Game – Blindfold your learner and then make a noise (clap, whistle, cough, etc). Move around in different areas of the room when making the noise. Have your learner identify the noise made and point to the direction they think the noise came from.
Arts & Crafts Activities (Older Learners):
- Quality Leader Board
Create a “Quality Leader Board” listing the traits of a good leader discussed in the language development activities. Use quotes, positive sayings, virtue words and pictures to build on a meaningful collage that represents the behaviors your learner will develop. - Hear like a Bat
Echolocation – the ability to locate objects through sound waves
Game – Blindfold your learner and present noise-making sounds that learners can identify. (Examples: telephone ringing, drum beating, bell ringing, familiar songs playing, car horn honking, etc.)- Another activity is to hide a ticking timer somewhere in the room and
have your learner search for it before the buzzer rings.
- Another activity is to hide a ticking timer somewhere in the room and
Involvement Tips: (All Ages)
- Lead by example and show your concern for others with acts of kindness. Let your learner help with those acts. Follow through with any ideas that your learner thinks of and praise them for their concern and care for others.
- Use picture books, magazine ads, or newspaper articles to start dialogues about prejudice and discrimination with your learner. Teach your learner to do their own best and not worry about comparing themselves to other people. Help them understand the importance of challenging themselves to always do their very best and to do it for their own satisfaction.
The bats fly over Farmer John’s house.
Lasting Impressions
Continue with learning experiences to extend your stay.
Follow-up Activities (Younger Learners):
- Create a Bat Cave
Using dark blankets, chairs, and tables, assemble a “bat cave.” Have a “snuggle” time in a homemade bat cave and read bat stories.
Follow-up Activities (Older Learners):
- Listen! Did you hear that?
Ask your learner to identify sounds they hear at home. Asking and bringing awareness to sounds is the key to alertness.
Some people thought the bats were a sign of good fortune and happiness. Others believed scary, old stories and were afraid of bats.
Activities Coloring Pages Word Puzzles Word Treasures Return to the Story
Nat thought, “People would like us if they knew us better.”