Activity Summary
Students will discuss preliminary concepts of the unit, including cave safety. A coloring handout illustrates a cave entrance.

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

• Click to download Handout 3: Reading Follow-up Coloring Page (gif image)
  (Color pages shows an picture of Jenny and Carlos in the cave. Bat flies on top of them and Jenny stands in an underground stream that runs through the cave. A white fish with no eyes swims in the stream. A blind crayfish appears right next to a rock. There are some cave plants in the foreground.)

Procedure

1. Distribute Handout 3: Reading Follow-up Coloring Page.
2. While students are coloring, talk about Discussion Questions, below. Ask them to point out the following items on their coloring page: cave fish, limestone, trogloxenes, troglobites, troglophiles, crystal formations, and underground stream.
3. Incorporate New Words into writing and vocabulary lessons.
4. Assign writing topics to advanced students.

Discussion Questions

1. There are two kinds of caves: "show caves" and "wild caves." "Show caves" have guides, paths, and lights to show the rock formations. "Wild caves" have none of these, and can be quite dangerous. Which kind of cave is this story about? Have you ever been in a "show cave" or a "wild cave?" Show the class cave brochures from commercial and park caves.

2. How does water help make caves?

3. What is the main kind of rock in American caves?
   
   (Limestone and related rock such as marble)

4. Limestone was made from the skeletons of coral and seashells millions of years ago in the bottom of the ocean. What could you find in limestone?
   
   (Fossils of ocean animals such as coral and clams)

5. Other caves are made in lava rocks. Where does lava come from?
   
   (Volcanoes)
   What parts of the United States have lava?
   (Western United States, including Hawaii and Alaska)

6. Discuss examples of "troglobite," "trogloxene," and "troglophile." What are the differences?

New Words for Lesson 2.1

Grade Level	Volcabulary
All grades	cave, fish, dissolve, limestone, sonar, troglobite, trogloxene, troglophile, caver
Kindergarten	claw, ears, safe, worm, black, brown
Grade 1	lovely, joke, pair, shone, snout, stone, strange, stump, wings
Grade 2	amazement, brown, tunnel, soap
Grade 3	comment, mistake, napkin, flap, cavern

Writing Assignment: Grade 2-3
Think about what you have learned so far. Write three questions that you would like to ask a talking cave bat.

All USGS teaching packets are based on National Education Standards.