clear gif USGS logo links to USGS home page
 TEXT VERSION #
decorative image: top of waterfall spacer
Link to Students Rollover to view Students listing Link to Teachers Rollover to view Teachers listing Link to Explorer Rollover to view Explorers listing
Explore Caves Header. Icon shows a bat coming out of a cave.
Navigation

Chapter Three Lessons

Lesson 3.1 Reading Follow-up Activity
Lesson 3.2 Adapting to the Dark-Bats and People
Lesson 3.3 Let's Visit a Cave


Lesson 3.1 Reading Follow-up Activity

Grade Levels Scientific Topics Disciplines
K, 1, 2, 3 Geology
Biology
Science Reading
Writing

Activity Summary

  • Describe the living arrangements of a bat colony.
  • Define the word "guano."

Educational Goals
Students will be able to:

  • Explain how water and limestone interact to form caves.
  • Define "troglobite," "trogloxene," and "troglophile."
  • Describe some of the dangers of cave exploration.
  • Explain how water makes cave rock formations.

Materials Provided

Procedure

  1. Distribute Handout 6: Reading Follow-up Coloring Page.
  2. While students are coloring, talk about Discussion Questions, below.
  3. Incorporate New Words into writing and vocabulary lessons.
  4. Assign writing topics to advanced students.

Discussion Questions

  1. What are the three groups of cave animals?
    (Troglobites, trogloxenes, and troglophiles.)

  2. Encourage the class to pronounce the words out loud as a group. Although the words are long, they have a musical, amusing sound. Revisit the Rock Music song to help.

  3. In which categories are the following animals: bat, pale cave fish, earthworm?

  4. What would happen to cave animals if a bat colony were scared away?

  5. Imagine a cave with no bat colony. What would happen if a bat colony moved in?

  6. Where on your picture are crickets, the bat colony, and guano? Why are the bats upside down?

New Words:

All grades colony, droppings, energy, guano, millipede
Kindergarten hard, ice, loose, rocks, sleep
Grade 1 butter, chatter, children, finger, joke, knee, scared, splash
Grade 2 sandwich, secret, stomach, supper, flashlight
Grade 3 stiff, critter, cricket, celery, odor, peanut

Writing Assignment: Grade 2-3
Write a poem about cave animals that live in the dark. How can they find things in the dark? What do they eat? Do they have strange names?



Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 > Lessons 3.1 :: 3.2 :: 3.3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5


Exploring Caves Home | Teacher's Guide | Explore Caves >> Story :: Cave Types :: Cave Animals :: Cave Care :: America's Caves

Waterfall
#
Click to link to Learning Web home page   Basic Search
  

  Search Wizard
Click to search with more options. Icon shows a wand with star tip.

Home

Site Map

Contact Us

USGS Education

Ask USGS

Click Here to Download a Paper Model of Caves



Click to link to Fun Stuff Playtime Wizard

Image Wizard

Map Wizard

E-Cards

Wallpapers

Click to link to Explorers Earth Hazards

Water

Plants & Animals

Maps & Images

Rocks & Images

Real-time Info

Ecosystems

Natural Resources

All USGS teaching packets are based on National Education Standards.


clear gif
  Home | Site Map | Contact Us | Education | USGS Home | Ask USGS
#


U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA
Child Privacy Policy | Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | FOIA | Accessibility
URL: http://www.usgs.gov/education/index.html
Earth science questions: http://www.usgs.gov/ask/index.html
Page contact: Learning Web Team
Last modified: 16:30:00 Tue 29 Jan 2002 act

#



Link to Introduction Link to Teacher's Guide Link to Explore Caves Link to Lesson Plans Link to Teaching Packet Evaluation