The Monarch butterfly is an animal which is really amazing! As an insect,we learn how it is alike and different from all other animals. It is also very special because during the first three stages of its life, the Monarch lives on a milkweed plant. This plant is its self-contained habitat. As an adult, the monarch makes a remarkable journey to survive. Since the life cycle of a Monarch is very brief, we can experience this animal's complete metamorphosis during the month of September.
What is the life cycle of butterflies and moths?
View The Butterfly and Moth Life Cycle Page
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After we read, think, observe, and write about the stages of this insect's life, students create a final project about the Monarch butterfly.
Performance
Standards for Monarch Project are:
E1:
Reading Standard 2 - Getting the Meaning
By the
end of third grade, we expect our students to produce reports that:
ï introduce the topic;
ï have an organizational structure that is useful to the reader;
ï communicate big ideas, insights or theories that have been elaborated
on or illustrated through facts, details, quotations, statistics and information;
ï have concluding sentences or section;
ï employ a straightforward tone of voice.
Science
Standards
Students
are expected to demonstrate conceptual understanding by using a concept
accurately to explain observations and make predictions and by representing
the concept in multiple ways:
S2:Science Standard-Life Science Concepts
ï S2a-Characteristics of organisms; the relationship between structure
and function; and variations in behavior.
ï S2b-Life cycles of organisms, and that all plants and animals have life
cycles.
ï S2c-Organisms and environments, and their effects on environments.
S4Scientific Connections and Applications
Rubric
for evaluating the Monarch final project:
Portfolio
Entry: Monarch Book
A quality Monarch book tells the story of the life cycle of this animal
in the correct order or sequence. It should be full of rich details
and accurate facts about this animal. The writer's words should describe
what each stage looks like and about the changes which happen. The
vocabulary should include the scientific names of things. Each sentence
must begin with a capital letter and end with the correct punctuation.
The illustrations should go along with the writing in each chapter, and
they should be done accurately and carefully.
____________________________________________________
A book
that has all of
these things is excellent. = A
A book
that has most
of these things is very good. = B
A book
that has some
of these things is good/average. = C
A book
that has few of
these things needs more work. = N
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Please read and reread your Monarch book. Think about what it says and how it says that. Then fill in the following:
I think
my Monarch book should be graded ________, because
________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________.
