1a. In "The Bat," what is the bat described as being similar to, or "cousin" to, by day? Where is the bat and what does it do by day? What does the bat do at night? What do we think when we see it brush up against a screen at night?
2a. In "Bats," what does the newborn bat do to join its mother on her night flight? What do both the mother bat and her baby do while flying?
3a. In "Bats," what description is given of the mother and baby bat sleeping during the day? What do their faces look like when they are asleep?
1b. In "The Bat," what are the speaker's feelings toward the bat by day? by night? Why does the speaker feel the way he or she does about the bat's appearance?
2b. What emotions does the description of the mother bat's flight with her baby evoke in you?
3b. Explain what emotions the description of the sleeping bats evokes in you. What words would you use to describe the bat as a mother?
4a. Compare and contrast the speakers' different reactions to bats in "The Bat" and "Bats." How does each speaker seem to feel about bats by day? by night? How does each speaker seem to feel about bats? List both similarities and differences. Use your graphic organizer as a starting point for ideas.
4b. Summarize the main ideas each poem communicates about bats.
5a. What does each speaker's reaction to bats reveal about him or her as a person? Sum up what you think of each speaker's personality based on what you have learned about him or her.
5b. Describe a time when you saw or experienced something that made you reconsider an opinion you once held. For example, you might have seen a person do something that changed your opinion of him or her, you might have learned something in a book or at school to change an opinion, or you might have seen something in nature.
Image and Imagery. List at least four images from "The Bat" and "Bats" that you found to be especially vivid. Then list the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell—to which these images appeal.
Concrete and abstract Language. Both the poems you have read are filled with vivid imagery, but do they make use primarily of concrete or of abstract words? Review the poems and report whether you find more concrete or more abstract words. What does this show you about how vivid images are created?
1. Write a menu for your own restaurant. You are writing this menu to appeal to people who will eat in your restaurant, so you should not only list what you plan on serving, but write descriptions of those items to stimulate your readers' senses of taste and smell.
2. Using vivid language and sensory details—things you can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell—write a dream report in which you describe a dream you recently had. Imagine that you are writing this dream report for someone who wants to analyze your dream and needs to know the details.
3. Write a description of either an animal or a season. You should fill your description with sensory details, or things you can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell, to make the chosen season or animal vivid to your reader. You should not, however, state what animal or season you are describing. See if your classmates can guess from your language the animal or season you have selected.
Brainstorming. Think about how you feel when you think about bats. Brainstorm a list of at least ten adjectives that describe your feelings.
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Correcting Passive Sentences. A verb is in the active voice when the subject of the verb performs the action. It is in the passive voice when the subject of the verb receives the action. For more information, see the Language Arts Survey 3.40, "Making Passive Sentences Active." Good writers use the active voice to engage their readers, while poor writers sometimes overuse the passive voice, especially when they are unsure about what they want to write. For example, which lines sound better, "When icicles hang by the wall, / And Dick the shepherd blows his nail, / And Tom bears logs into the hall," or "When icicles are hung by the wall, / And nails are blown upon by Dick the shepherd, / And logs are borne into the hall by Tom"? As you can probably tell, the active voice used by Shakespeare in the first example sounds more natural and interesting. Now, try your hand at using the active voice by rewriting the sentences below, changing any examples of passive voice to active voice.
1. The white mares of the moon were destroyed by the tiger sun.
2. The human face was worn by the mouse with wings.
3. The water of the pond was drunk by the mother as she skimmed across.
4. The sleeping child was folded in its mother's wings.
5. That song, "To-whit to-who" was sung nightly by the staring owl.
6. A hat about his head is made by his fingers.
7. The snow is treaded by herald angels.
8. Everything in the natural world is touched by winter.
9. Many unwanted insects are eaten by bats.
10. Bats are not understood by most people.
Using Biographical References, Encyclopedias, and Periodicals. Choose an animal that interests you and look up this animal in an encyclopedia. List at least five interesting facts about that animal that you discovered in your source.
Animal's Name:
Discriminating Fact from Opinion. The bat is an example of an animal that has gained a bad reputation through opinion rather than fact. A fact is something you can prove by looking in a reference book. Opinions can be supported but not proved. Review the Language Arts Survey 5.2, "Distinguishing Fact from Opinion." Then read the sentences below, and identify each as a fact or an opinion.
1. Bats are awe-inspiring and amazing creatures.
2. While bats are not blind, many bats do rely upon echolocation, or emitting high-frequency tones and listening to the echoes of these tones, rather than upon sight to navigate at night.
3. In the future people will gain a greater appreciation of bats and overcome their fears.
4. Most bats live on a diet of insects or fruit, while only the vampire bat drinks blood.
5. You should stay away from all bats because you never can tell which bat might be a vampire bat.
