Find out what's known about these migration mysteries, and
how much more you can discover. As you embark on your journey with the
monarchs, inspire students to think and act like scientists as they follow fall
migration.
- What is in our school yard?
- What creatures visit our schoolyard?
- How many butterflies visit it?
- What types of butterflies are in the schoolyard?
- How many monarch butterflies are found in the schoolyard?
- How might we know if a butterfly habitat is of high quality?
- What influences and impacts our schoolyard habitat?
Discuss what a monarch needs to survive and list these on
a board. Using books and other resources (see below for
suggestions), have students look for plants that are good nectar sources. Make
a list of those they find, or write the words on word cards and put in a pocket
chart.
Have each student make a drawing of a
plant that is a good nectar source for butterflies. Be
sure to have them draw the whole plant, not just the flower. Use field guides, seed catalogues, books on butterfly gardening or actual plants as guides. Encourage students to draw more than one individual of the plant they choose. Make the drawings large enough to be cut out. Have students label them by copying names from the class list.
sure to have them draw the whole plant, not just the flower. Use field guides, seed catalogues, books on butterfly gardening or actual plants as guides. Encourage students to draw more than one individual of the plant they choose. Make the drawings large enough to be cut out. Have students label them by copying names from the class list.
Have each student make a drawing of
milkweed. Use field guides or the actual plant as a guide for student drawings.
These drawings should also be cut out and labeled.
To create the monarch habitat, attach
student drawings to the bulletin board or on a large piece of
paper for a wall mural.
paper for a wall mural.
Students may add drawings of caterpillars
and butterflies to their habitat mural, as well as other plants
and animals.
and animals.
Helpful Resources
University of Minnesota Monarch Lab - http://www.monarchlab.org/
Monarch Watch - http://www.monarchwatch.org/class/index.htm
September Monarchs Embark on Nature’s Most Incredible
Migration - http://www.iowadnr.gov/portals/idnr/uploads/Iowa%20Outdoors%20Magazine/Nature/files/MonarchOdyssey.pdf
Monarch Net - http://www.monarchnet.org/
Journey North - http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/fall2014/update091114.html
A Visual Journey Through the Monarch Life Cycle - http://blog.nwf.org/2014/09/a-visual-journey-through-the-monarch-life-cycle/?utm_content=buffer69b31&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Flight of the Butterflies Educator Guide - https://app.box.com/s/3rxomi5k6f2uwt8w3o4b
Monarch Health - http://monarchparasites.org/
Create a School Butterfly
Garden
Butterfly gardens can increase student engagement and
curiosity in the classroom while serving as an interactive classroom. Check out
these great resources to help get you started:
- A Teacher's Guide To Creating A School Butterfly Garden
- 21 Tips for Starting (or Improving) your School ButterflyGarden
Fun Monarch Facts
- Monarchs can soar up to a mile high, and they weigh as little as a paper clip.
- Monarchs sense and avoid topographical features such as large bodies of water and high mountains, and funnel through small valley passes.
- To conserve energy, they try to catch free rides on prevailing winds or thermal airwaves, and females and males are not reproductive; the females do not lay eggs until overwintering in Mexico ends.
