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Objective(s)
Students will use the Internet and email to communicate.
Students will identify butterfly migration, habitat characteristics,
longitude, latitude, and related Spanish words.
National Standards
Technology: Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively
to access remote information, communicate with others in support
of direct and independent learning.
Science: (C)The characteristics of organisms; (A) Ask a question
about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.
Summary
In this unit, students will learn more about butterflies and
their migration patterns by communicating via email with students
in Mexico.
Technology and/or Materials Needed
- Computers with Internet access
- Email accounts (teacher or student accounts)
- paper butterfly pattern from the website
- teacher registration at the website
Implementation Time Frame
Approximately ten 45-minute class period over the migration
Activities
In September or October, go to www.learner.org/jnorth
to register and look at the pages "Fall's Journey South"
and "Send a Monarch to Mexico".
To introduce the lesson, print out the coloring template of
the butterfly from the website and open a discussion about butterflies.
Explain to students that they will be sending their butterflies
and letters to students in Mexico where the butterflies migrate.
After coloring the butterflies, students may independently
or collectively write letters to the students in Mexico explaining
your home town and about each student, for example sharing their
favorite food or color. Obtaining the assistance of your Spanish
teacher, a knowledgeable parent, or translater (on-line), the
letters should be translated into Spanish, sharing some of the
words with the students. The letters and butterflies are then
sent to Journey North who will forward to students in Mexico.
During the fall and winter months, students should periodically
check the migration of the butterflies using the website. Students
are also connected with students in Mexico through email. Letters
and email received from students in Mexico need to translated.
Local high school students could also be used to assist your
class.
Once spring comes, students will look for the butterflies
and share with the class when they are seen. To close the activity,
students should write a final letter explaining the experience.
Extensions of this lesson could include studying butterflies
in science, the migration route in geography/social studies,
and graphing in mathematics. Further extensions could be to invite
the Butterfly Society to your class, or plant a butterfly bush
on your school grounds.
Assessment
Students' final letters can be assessed using a rubric evaluating
content of personal expression and/or language usage.
Resources and Related Links
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