Do
You Know a Monarch When You See One?
(Teacher Guide #2 of Fall
Monarch Migration: A Guided Tour for Teachers)
Summary
Hundreds of observers track the monarch's migration every fall and spring.
These observers expand the eyes and ears of scientists in ways not possible
before the Internet. Their reported observations must be accurate in
order for the data to be valid and useful. Careful observation and proper
identification are the first important steps. Can your students distinguish
a monarch from other look-alike butterflies? These lesson activities
will help you cultivate your students’ observation and identification
skills, and prepare them for their role of citizen scientists.
This Teacher Guide Includes:
Lesson Goals
- Help students positively identify a monarch butterfly by its distinctive field marks and unique characteristics.
- Help students distinguish between monarchs and look-alike butterflies
- Build students’ observation and identification skills in preparation for reporting their own observations.
After reading Do You Know a Monarch When You See One? students will:
- Draw a scientific illustration of a monarch butterfly.
- Compare and contrast two butterfly species, the monarch and the viceroy, on a Venn diagram.
- Discover key words and concepts related to butterfly identification: field marks, thorax, abdomen, forewing, hindwing, scales, wingspan, wing patterns, upperside and underside of wings, and wing margin.
| For this lesson:
For
each student:
|
Experience the text first as a reader and then as an instructor. As you read through the booklet/slideshow text, use this planning guide to capture your thoughts: observations, questions, discoveries, vocabulary, possible teaching applications, etc. Share your thinking process with students to model effective reading strategies.
Pre-Reading: Set the Stage for Learning
1. Invite students to examine the cover of the booklet/slideshow with the photographs of monarchs and look-alike butterflies. Have them examine the colors, sizes, shapes, patterns and distinguishing field marks of each butterfly. Identify similarities and differences. Ask questions to assess prior knowledge and prepare for reading:
-
Are all of these butterflies the same?
-
How are the butterflies alike in size, shape, and color?
- How are they different?
-
What do you notice about the patterns on the wings of each butterfly?
- How about their colors, shapes and sizes?
-
Only one of the butterflies is a monarch. Can you tell which one?
2.
Read aloud the title of the booklet/slideshow and invite
students to take a picture walk through the pages—quickly scanning
the photos, diagrams, and maps. Encourage them to share questions
and predictions before reading.
- Determine how you will have students experience the booklet text for a first reading: whole class, small group, partner, or individual. Encourage students to take notes or mark up the text--underlining key ideas and making notes in the margins.
After Reading: Revisit for Understanding
1. Note-taking Chart: Observe and Identify Provide each student or small group with an Observe and Identify: Note-taking Chart to help them organize facts about the Monarch, Viceroy, Queen, and Painted Lady butterflies. Encourage them to revisit each page of the booklet to collect facts from the text and photographs.
|
|
2.
Draw and Describe the Monarch Butterfly
|
|
| 3.
Compare and Contrast: Monarch and Viceroy Using a Venn diagram, have students compare and contrast two butterfly species, the monarch and the viceroy. Have students write the similarities in the intersecting part of the diagram and list the traits unique to each species in the outer portions of the diagram. |
 Handout Compare and Contrast Monarch and Viceroy |
| 4.
Monarch Identification Cards Invite students to design Monarch Identification Cards using the details they collected while reading the booklet and examining photos. Discuss the distribution map on the ID card handout. (A distribution map shows where a species occurs naturally.) Ask, where might you spot a monarch in North America? Explain that knowing where a species is likely to occur can help us to identify a species properly. Show students the monarch butterfly distribution map for North America and challenge them to create their own distribution map on the handout. |
 Handout Monarch Identification Card |
| 5. Use questions to help students summarize their learning:
|
|
6.
Wrap Up
|
|
1.
Lesson:
Practice with Butterfly Identification: Look, Measure, Draw,
Describe
In this lesson, students compare and contrast a monarch and a painted
lady. They look at photos to find distinguishing field marks for each
species. They read about the size of each butterfly’s wingspan.
Be sure to have students calculate the difference between the two
measurements. Using templates, students draw each butterfly to scale.
After drawing, students use key vocabulary to describe each butterfly.
Lesson also provides additional links to resources related to butterfly
identification. Journaling questions included at the end of the lesson
can be used for a summary discussion.
2.
Lesson: How Many Monarchs in the Garden?
In this activity, students read an observation report from Linda Schemmer
who has a butterfly garden in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. They examine her
photo of butterflies nectaring on beautiful flowers. Students are
asked to count how many monarchs are in the photo. They read to discover
that one of the butterflies in the photo is a Queen, not a monarch.
-
Lesson: How Many Monarchs in the Garden?
3.
Lesson: Cultivating Keen Observers
Observation is an essential skill in the scientific process. To extend
your students' "backyard" observations, Journey North features
a wealth of stunning photos and video clips. You can use them to engage
students, build observation skills, inspire scientific thinking, and
create fertile ground for discussions and new questions!
-
Lesson: Cultivating Keen Observers
4.
Slideshow: Butterfly Wings: What Can You Learn by
Looking Closely?
Monarch wings are strong. They can carry a monarch over a thousand
of miles. They can last over a hundred years if they're kept in a
museum. But life is tough for a butterfly. Wings that begin as fresh
as a flower, become faded, tattered, and torn over time. You can learn
a lot about a butterfly by looking closely at its wings. Take a look!
5.
Lesson: Wanted: Monarch Butterfly Sightings
As you search for the most wanted butterfly this spring, beware of
an impostor! There's another butterfly out there that's disguised
as a monarch. Viceroy butterflies look exactly like monarchs to the
untrained observer. Viceroys "mimic" monarchs in appearance.
This is a strategy to avoid predation.
Words
and Definitions Related to Monarch Identification
Build understanding of key concepts by exploring these vocabulary words
in the context of monarch identification.
Abdomen (noun): third, most posterior segment of monarch’s 3-part body; located after the thorax
Antennae (noun): pair of slim, segmented sensory organs, sometimes called feelers, found above the mouthparts on the head of the monarch; singular form—antenna
Anterior (adjective): at the front end
Field Marks (noun): physical features or behaviors of an organism that can be seen clearly and can be used to distinguish the organism from other similar species
Forewings (noun): the anterior or front pair of wings
Head (noun): first segment of monarch’s 3-part body containing eyes, antennae, and mouthparts
Hindwings (noun): the posterior or rear pair of wings
Posterior (adjective): at the back end
Scales (noun): tiny, flattened modified hairs that cover the wings of butterflies and moths. The different colors and arrangements of these scales are what give butterfly and moth wings their different colors and patterns. In butterflies, scales are usually arranged like overlapping shingles on a roof.
Thorax (noun): the middle segment of the monarch’s 3-part body; located between the head and abdomen, the monarch’s legs and wings are connected to this muscular middle segment.
Wing margin (noun): outer border of the wings
Wingspan (noun): total distance between the tips of the forewings when the wings are held open
Wing veins (noun): thin, hollow, tubular structures in the wings of insects that provide structural support to the wings. The front edge of the forewings contains the strongest and most important vein in the wings.
Venation (noun): the pattern and arrangement of veins on the wings.
Suggested Activities
1.
Scientifically Speaking…
How would a scientist describe a monarch butterfly? In this lesson,
students will be trying to “find the words” to describe
monarchs and other butterflies. Throughout the lesson (and unit of study),
collect their words on a class chart. Introduce and define the words
scientists use to describe monarchs. Place these scientific terms next
to their words on the chart. Encourage students to use these terms to
communicate their questions, predictions, and discoveries about monarchs
and migration.
Example:
Student: black feelers on the monarch's head
Scientist: antennae
For older students: collect scientific definitions for each of the vocabulary words (listed above) from a variety of reference books and the Internet. Encourage students to study and compare the definitions. Which definitions are difficult to decipher? Which definitions help them understand? Challenge students to create a kid-friendly glossary that younger students can use to learn about monarchs. Encourage them to include illustrations, photos, and labeled diagrams in the glossary they create.
2.
Poetically Speaking…
As students are learning the scientific language of monarch butterflies,
build their descriptive writing and speaking skills by asking: What
words would a poet use to describe a monarch butterfly? Place students
in small groups with access to several picture books and poems about
monarchs. Have them collect the lyrical words and phrases authors and
poets use to describe their experiences with monarch butterflies. Invite
each group to share some of their favorite words and phrases. Encourage
students to capture their moments with monarchs with words a poet might
use. Students can also often find poetic descriptions on the Journey
North website, among monarch sightings contributed by other citizen
scientists who are tracking the migration, as well as by scientists
who contribute to Journey North.
Building
Vocabulary with Journey North
Vocabulary is essential to comprehension. Students need to
apply strategies before, during, and after reading to understand texts.
Journey North provides a wealth of informational texts to help students
learn about words in meaningful contexts. For additional instructional
activities, check out this link:
