Lesson Plans

Monarch Lab
From the University of Minnesota
http://monarchlab.org/education-and-gardening/curricula/
The Monarch Lab aims to combine real science with techniques that work for both teachers and students. Within the Monarch Lab, there are opportunities for formal and informal educators to be guided in instructing their students to learn science in ways that reflect the science process methods scientists use to understand the natural world.

Monarch Education
From the USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/teacherandstudent/index.shtml
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Protección de la Fauna Mexicana A.C. (Profauna A.C.), a Mexican non-governmental organization, developed The Monarch Butterfly Manual, Royal Mail: A Manual for the Environmental Educator. This manual was developed for grades Pre-K through 12 and offers activities that promote conservation of the Monarch Butterfly. Each activity includes an overview, background information, and a sidebar that highlights the skills and concepts students will use, along with the learning objectives they will meet. You can download the entire guide or each individual activity.

• Daughters of the Sun
  Students will investigate the significance of the butterfly for the early inhabitants of Mexico and what beliefs about the butterfly persist today.
  http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/documents/royal_mail/Daughters_of_the_Sun.pdf (for grades 3-6)
• Making Decisions in the Forest
  There are no easy solutions for the problems which emerge in protecting natural areas.  Solving them requires that the parties participate and compromise in the decisions made.  Students will analyze the problems that the Monarch Butterfly Special Biosphere Reserve in Mexico faces and will propose solutions.
  http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/documents/royal_mail/Making_Decisions.pdf (for grades 7-12)

Project Learning Tree® Lesson Plans

Improve Your Place
This is lesson plan provides a process for planning, designing, and planting a butterfly and pollinator garden, and is a good model to use when creating and planning any service project. In this activity, students are encouraged to plan and carry out a service learning project that focuses on making positive environmental changes in their community. CLICK HERE for a pdf file of “Improve Your Place.” (for grades 5-8)

Can It Be Real?
A beetle that drinks fog. A flower that smells like rotting meat. A fish that “shoots down” its prey. Are these plants and animals for real? In this activity, students discover extraordinary plants and animals, and gain insight on how they are uniquely adapted to environmental conditions. CLICK HERE for a pdf file of “Can It Be Real?” (for grades 4-8)