The ‘var‘ variable is defined in a local scope because it is enclosed between a ‘SETLOCAL’ and ‘ENDLOCAL’ block. Hence, this variable will be destroyed as soon the ‘ENDLOCAL’ statement is executed.
The other way in which variables can be initialized is via the ‘set’ command. Following is the syntax of the set command.
You will notice that the command echo %var% will not yield anything because after the ENDLOCAL statement, the ‘var’ variable will no longer exist.
If the above batch script is stored in a file called test.bat and we were to run the batch as
Example
The following example shows a batch file which accepts 3 command line arguments and echo’s them to the command line screen.
All of the arithmetic operators work in batch files. The following example shows arithmetic operators can be used in batch files.
If you have variables that would be used across batch files, then it is always preferable to use environment variables. Once the environment variable is defined, it can be accessed via the % sign. The following example shows how to see the JAVA_HOME defined on a system. The JAVA_HOME variable is a key component that is normally used by a wide variety of applications.
Following is a screenshot of how this would look in the command prompt when the batch file is executed.
October is the perfect time to study and write about creatures that come out at night. Bats, spiders, owls . . . this month is filled with creepy creatures that students love to explore and learn about.
In the next trimester , we go more in-depth with Expository / Informational Writing About Animals. I have a series of blog posts about it. This writing about bats sets a good foundation for our future work.
Here is an example of ways to extend the learning beyond a one-day recording of facts. These comprehension activities help students dig deeper into the text and learn more about the animal.
Do you need more engaging and high-interest informational text for your elementary students to read? Here are over 126 Animal Articles with reading comprehension and informational writing activities. There are over 14 ecosystems with a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and more! Give your students the power to choose which animal they study and help them write an engaging animal report, learn to read informational text, or do structured writing. Check out the Animal Article Collection.
Day 1: Eliciting Information & Gathering Facts
While we read the book or article, we checked off facts that were already on our chart, corrected some misconceptions, and added facts to the lower half.
I helped them out by color-coding the circle map. You can see the colors in the picture above.
We then read a book about bats. It was just one I pulled from our school library that had enough information in it without being too technical. There are a ton of great bat books out there.
All the green squares were how bats looked and fit into the first square. The same for the other squares. The color-coding helped students organize their thoughts. This was the first time we had done somewhat formal instruction on how to write an expository paragraph and I needed to make it as simple as possible for students.
Above is an anchor chart we created the first year I taught this lesson. Here is another anchor we created the second year.
We then read a book about bats. It was just one I pulled from our school library that had enough information in it without being too technical. There are a ton of great bat books out there.
I find the fact sorts are perfect for students who struggle with writing, but who can work with more complicated, and larger amounts of information. When I help students with writing, I want to help them organize their thinking, not get muddled by the amount of information.
Organizing Our Writing
This unit also correlates a blog series I wrote about Information Writing. This particular post was taught earlier in the year and made a good introduction to the expository writing process.
We also started our rough drafts on the second day. I gave students the topic sentence and conclusion. The rest of the sentences they created from the bulleted list on their graphic organizer.
This writing mini-unit took two to three days to complete. You can have it as short or as long as you want by adjusting how deep you go on certain components.
I had students list what bats look like, how they hunt or eat , and how they live in three different squares.
Students wrote their final draft on paper that was from this Bat Writing Packet on TPT. It was perfect for this application. I stapled each student’s final draft, rough draft, and prewriting together to a black piece of paper so that I could keep track of the whole process we went through.
I needed to pull that concept out into a formal lesson with the whole group, but this was a good introduction to that process. I can definitely use some of their own writing here to model and practice the concept in the coming weeks.
We also started our rough drafts on the second day. I gave students the topic sentence and conclusion. The rest of the sentences they created from the bulleted list on their graphic organizer.
Or I also have this Bat Informational Article and Comprehension Activities Resource . Students can read and record facts from the bat article and work with the text in a variety of ways.
Start Our Rough Drafts
While we read the book or article, we checked off facts that were already on our chart, corrected some misconceptions, and added facts to the lower half.
I find the fact sorts are perfect for students who struggle with writing, but who can work with more complicated, and larger amounts of information. When I help students with writing, I want to help them organize their thinking, not get muddled by the amount of information.
After reading, we added even more facts to the bottom portion to round out our understanding.
Our kindergarten and first grades focus heavily on spiders during the Fall months. Since my second graders have done way too much work with spiders the past few years, I decided to do something with bats this year.
You are not licensed to redistribute the digital file or the printables to others – please just refer folks to this post so they can download their own copy!
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Grab 11 free printable bat templates for paper Halloween crafts! use these black bat templates and bat silhouette patterns for hanging, kids crafts, DIY Halloween decorations, pumpkin carving, and more.
Pick from a variety of Halloween coloring pages. Pages range from cute and simple for your littles to more spooky and complex for adults.
Free Printable Halloween Banner
If you don’t like bats and think they’re only for Halloween, I hope you read a bit more about how important bats are. Did you know that they’re pollinators for a lot of favorite crops like avocados, mangos, and peaches?
Download links are located below the applicable preview image. Each link is highlighted with a grey box to make it easier to find.
There are so many things you can do with these bat outlines! Here are a few ideas to get you started:
In the above code snippet, a variable called message is defined and set with the value of "Hello World".
The following example shows a batch file which accepts 3 command line arguments and echo’s them to the command line screen.
The following code shows a simple way in which numeric values can be set with the /A switch.
You will notice that the command echo %var% will not yield anything because after the ENDLOCAL statement, the ‘var’ variable will no longer exist.
Output
If the above batch script is stored in a file called test.bat and we were to run the batch as
In batch script, it is also possible to define a variable to hold a numeric value. This can be done by using the /A switch.
The output would still remain the same as above. However, the fourth parameter would be ignored.