Monarch Challenges: Science Lesson

1 hour 55 minutesGrades3, 4, 5Science, English Language Arts

About this lesson

In this lesson, students analyze a graph to learn about the decline of monarch butterflies, play a game to identify challenges faced by the insect and make an action plan to help the species in their local context.

Inquire: Students interact with a slow reveal graph showing Monarch Butterfly decline and discuss.

Investigate: Students examine and identify the challenges monarchs face during migration.

Inspire: Students take action to increase the monarch population.

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This lesson aligns with Wisconsin’s Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (ELS) standards.
This lesson can be taught during a unit on pollinators or migration and during spring or fall to emphasize monarch migration.
Teachers may apply this lesson when teaching about plant parts and anatomy.
This lesson explores diverse voices across Mexico and the United States by learning what is already being done to protect monarchs.
This lesson can be taught over several days: Day 1: Inquire, Investigate Monarch Movement Game; Day 2: Investigate Monarch Graphic Organizer; Day 3: Inspire.

Prerequisites

Students should have a basic understanding of plant life cycles and pollinators.
Preview the videos before class.

Differentiation

To extend activities, students may complete online research at the following websites:
Use sentence stems for students to share their ideas.
Students can work in pairs or small groups to complete the Inspire activity options.
Students can go on a nature walk to compare plants on the trail with plants in the milkweed identification sheet.
- Students analyze the various shapes of plants around them.
- Teacher emphasizes the differences between common milkweed and swamp milkweed. Show through photos.

From the scientist review

Through a challenge, students study the monarch butterfly and caterpillar, examine statistics to see how the population has changed over time, and suggest strategies to prevent additional declines. This lesson passed our science credibility procedure after we evaluated it.

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About the teacher writer

Sarah Chisholm

Sarah lives in Wisconsin and has experience working with the state park system as a Stewardship Coordinator and continues to volunteer and lead interpretative hikes with a focus on monarchs. She enjoys teaching “Leave No Trace” programs and fun fact! She is learning all about how to grow her “Grandpa Grapes”, which have been in her family nearly 80 years!

At a glance

Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Grades: 3, 4, 5
Subjects: Science, English Language Arts
Format: Google Docs, Google Slides
Language: English
Location: North America > United States > Wisconsin
Created by: Wisconsin Climate Education Hub teachers
Published: February 27, 2025
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · W.3.8 + 18 more

Wisconsin Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

W.3.8Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
W.3.1Compose reflective, formal, and creative writing, which may happen simultaneously or independently, for a variety of high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.
W.3.2Write text in a variety of modes: a) Opinion pieces in which the student supports a point of view about a topic or text they are writing about, states an opinion, and lists reasons that support the opinion; b) Informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic and use facts, definitions, and details to develop points; c) Convey events, real or imagined, through narrative/short stories to develop experiences or events using descriptive details and clear event sequences to establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters. Use dialogue and description of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
W.3.3Create writing that utilizes: a) Organization: include an introduction that establishes a purpose and provides a concluding statement appropriate to the mode of writing; b) Transitions: use of prompts, words, and phrases to signal event order and to link and build connections between ideas, text, and events; c) Word Choice (including domain-specific): use words familiar to the student for emphasis, addition, contrast, or order to connect categories or information, and to convey meaning.
W.3.7Conduct short inquiry projects that build knowledge about a topic.
SL.3.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing one’s thinking clearly.
W.4.1Compose reflective, formal, and creative writing, which may happen simultaneously or independently, for a variety of high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.
W.4.2Write text in a variety of modes: a) Opinion pieces in which the student introduces the topic or text they are writing about, states an opinion, and creates an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer's purpose. List reasons that support the opinion; b) Informative texts in which they clearly introduce a topic, group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aid comprehension. Use facts, definitions, and details to develop points; c) Convey events, real or imagined, through narrative/short stories which orient a reader by establishing a real or imagined situation and introducing a narrator and characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
W.4.3Create writing that utilizes: a) Organization: include an introduction that establishes a purpose and provides a concluding statement related to the body of the composition. Structure of text reflects the purpose; b) Transitions: use of phrases to signal event order and to link and build connections between ideas, text, and events; c) Word Choice (including domain-specific): experiments with words to provide emphasis, addition, contrast, or order to connect themes and ideas.
W.4.7Conduct short inquiry projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.4.8Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information and provide a list of sources.
SL.4.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing one’s thinking clearly.
W.5.1Compose reflective, formal, and creative writing, which may happen simultaneously or independently, for a variety of high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.
W.5.2Write text in a variety of modes: a) Opinion pieces that support a point of view about a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically ordered to support facts, details, and the writer's purpose; b) Informative text that introduces a topic clearly, use topic- and genre-specific language to provide a general observation, focus, and group related information logically. Include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension and to link ideas within and across categories of information; c) Convey events, real or imagined, through narrative/short stories which orient a reader by establishing a real or imagined situation and introduce a narrator and characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
W.5.3Create writing that utilizes: a) Organization: include an introduction that establishes a purpose and engages the reader. Text builds to a concluding statement appropriate to the mode of writing and related to the body of the composition; b) Transitions: use a variety of transitional words and phrases that logically connect and develop ideas; c) Word Choice (including domain-specific): creatively selects unique words for emphasis, addition, contrast, or order.
SL.5.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing one’s thinking clearly.

Environmental Literacy and Sustainability

ELS.EX2.B.iExplain how living and nonliving things can affect survival of organisms. Recognize ways that organisms depend on other organisms (e.g., plants depend on animals for pollination and seed dispersal) and that each has a role in the function of the ecosystem (e.g., producers, consumers, and decomposers).
ELS.EN7.A.iDescribe and analyze ways that youth, acting as individuals or members of a group, create beneficial change, meet individual needs, and promote the common good. Investigate sustainability issues that need attention in a school or community and brainstorm multiple solutions, considering perspectives of multiple stakeholders.

Science

3-LS4-3.Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

This lesson plan is licensed under Creative Commons.

Monarch Challenges: Science Lesson

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