Butterfly Activities on The Rooftop!

This past fall, students had a first hand experience with Monarch butterflies. The butterfly activity serves as an engaging task to introduce the students to the concept of making detailed observations of both a qualitative and quantitative nature. This ties into the Science in Daily Life Strand. Students complete the writing of assignments using descriptive language and numbers to describe what changes they observe with the butterflies. Descriptive feedback is used to provide students with a key skill both in science and in daily living tasks.

Secondly learning about the monarch butterfly lifecycle and the migration to Mexico ties in nicely with the Biology: Staying Alive Strand. The student learn about metamorphosis and the characteristics of insects.

Lastly this activity is a good diagnostic of the type of prior knowledge and skills the students are brining to Mr. Servos's science classroom. Mr. Servose can observer their writing skills, geographic knowledge as well as how familiar they are with some really basic biology. 

Here you can see students first hand experience with monarchs: