| M o n a r c h W a t c h |  |
| In the Classroom |
CLASSROOM
Introduction
Challenges
to Students
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Curriculum
Guides
Vocabulary
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Curriculum Guides : Introduction | |
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Monarchs in the Classroom is a K-9 curriculum designed to be an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based supplement to classroom science instruction. With its foundation in life science, the curriculum incorporates concepts and skills in math, reading, writing, art, and social studies. Lessons are congruent with K-8 concept and process standards as outlined in the National Academy of Science's National Science Education Standards. Through this series of lessons related to the life cycle and ecology of Monarch butterflies, students will engage in inquiry processes which will help them ask questions, plan and conduct investigations, use appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, think critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations, construct and analyze alternative theories, and communicate scientific ideas. The curriculum was produced with the support of the University of Minnesota, Department of Continuing Education; the University of Minnesota, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; the Medtronic STAR Foundation; and the National Science Foundation. How to Use These Materials We recommend reading the background information on Monarchs, their host plants and predators, and rearing techniques available on this site before raising Monarchs in your classroom. This includes more detail than is necessary to use the curriculum, but we think you'll find the material to be both useful and interesting. Much of the curriculum focusses on having living Monarchs in the classroom or tagging wild individuals, but some activities can be done without real, live critters. Monarchs in the Classroom has created 3 curriculum guides: for K-2, 3-6 and Middle School. Each of them has the same background information section (about 40 pages) and age-specific lessons divided into 6 sections: the monarch life cycle, migration, ecology, systematics, conservation and experiments with monarchs. The lessons include both teacher and student pages. There is an appendix with an extensive bibliography, and black-line drawings that can be copied for student handouts or overhead transparencies. All three Monarch Curriculum Guides (item 113228) are currently available via the Monarch Watch Shop. |
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