Descend into the depths of our planet’s most mysterious places to meet the creatures that call caves home. We'll explore the unique traits of cave habitats, explore bats as a keystone species, learn about cave creature adaptations as we meet some remarkable animals, and discover how we can become cave protectors!

Throughout each CURIOUS TRAILS NATURE STUDY you’ll find open-and-go topic study guides and lots of hands-on-activities ranging from S.T.E.M. projects, art invitations, nature journaling, cooking together, and more! This family-style unit is divided into 4 weekly nature lessons with activities that follow and ideas for our younger and older learners. Come together for our unit celebration to study nature poetry while enjoying delicious Bat Bites!

Important: This is a PDF download. No physical product will be mailed to you. Print at home or at your favorite printing store. This unit is not formatted for double-sided printing. Activity sheets are best printed single-sided.

What's included in the Curious Trails Cave Creatures Unit Study:

LESSON ONE: CAVE HABITATS
• Explore the three zones within a cave habitat then create a 3-D model for your nature table.
• Learn where food comes from within a cave ecosystem.
• Create a cave food chain.
• Tell the story of how energy is transferred within a cave food web with our writer's workshop prompt.

LESSON TWO: CAVE CREATURES
• Explore the three categories of animals that live in caves.
• Learn how bats are a keystone species within cave habitats.
• Debate the benefits and disadvantages of guano mining.
• Create a bat life cycle craft and label their anatomy.
• Share what you've learned about the benefits of bats with your Bat Mobile presentation.

LESSON THREE: CAVE ADAPTATIONS
• Meet the Olm, the first troglobite to be discovered!
• Learn how troglobites have adapted to living in their low-food environment and total darkness.
• Explore the difference between structural, physiological, and behavioral adaptations in our activities.
• Design your own cave creature!

LESSON FOUR: CAVE CONSERVATION
• Explore why caves matter in our world.
• Discuss the threats caves face from habitat loss, pollution of our waterways, and climate change.
• Learn how to be a responsible spelunker with our poster presentation.
• Create a 'spelunking kit' and guide to teach others how to explore caves safely.

UNIT CELEBRATION
Come together for our unit celebration to study nature poetry while enjoying delicious Bat Bites!

*Please note, the storybooks and other materials in the product photos are for staging purposes only and are not included with your purchase. If you have difficulty with your file, don't hesitate to contact me and we will figure it out together.

From our family to yours,
Jacqueline