Essential Questions:

• How do celebrations and holidays reflect cultural values?

• How is Mexican cultural history woven into the history of America?

• How does culture diffuse and change over a lifetime?

• How do immigrants improve our world?

• How does communicating with people from other cultures improve our world?

• How does your cultural identity reflect your surroundings?

Learning Objectives–In this Module, students will:

1.  Initiate and engage in positive intercultural dialogue;

2. Reflect on the underlying values of others and oneself;

3. Discuss multidisciplinary topics from a variety of perspectives, introduced by self, peers, teacher, and thought leaders;

4. Make predictions and gather details based on a text;

5. Interact with digital storytelling as a learning tool;

6. Articulate the value of experiencing diverse art and culture;

7. Explain how how art is an important mode for communicating our human experience;

8. Employ art as an aesthetic tool to communicate messages about important historical and contemporary issues;

9. Incorporate multiple perspectives to provide meaningful feedback on peers’ creative work.

Learning Outline:

This unit is organized around the Day of the Dead video presentation. It can be taught as one 3-hour learning experience, or in modules that combine as few or many of the activities as time allows. It is designed to be taught in the order below:

• 15 minutes: Launch Activity: Pre-Viewing– Connecting With the Departed

• 45 minutes: While Viewing– Understanding the Importance of Day of the Dead 

• 30 minutes: Post-Viewing–Writing and Synthesizing–Comparing Cultures 

• 45 minutes: Demonstration–Altars and Offerings  in Día de los Muertos

• 20+ minutes: Making Connections Through Art– Making Your Own Altar

• 25 minutes: Assessment– Art Exhibition, Interpretation, Feedback & Evaluation

Launch Activity: Pre-Viewing– Connecting With The Departed

[15 minutes]

[Learning objectives 1 & 2]

1. Introduce Topic: “We are going to explore “The Day of the Dead” or in Spanish, “Día de los Muertos,” a Mexican celebration where the living reconnect with, and remember the departed. 

2. Tell students, “In this module you are going to watch a video presentation about all the traditions and cultural icons that are involved with Day of the Dead. You will learn where many of these traditions came from, and why the celebration, despite the macabre symbols like skulls, and skeletons, is a joyous way to honor loved ones who have died. You will also explore how you memorialize lost loved ones and think about how your rituals are different or the same from those practiced in Mexico.”

3. Put students into groups and tell them you would like them in small groups to discuss how their family memorializes a lost loved one. Before putting them in breakout rooms, share your traditions, or a story of how you memorialize a loved one. After sharing, tell them that there are many ways and they vary from culture to culture and individual to individual. Share different ways like spreading ashes, writing a eulogy in the local newspaper, sending flowers, church funeral, starting a scholarship, wearing a piece of jewelry of that person, planting a tree, naming a star, getting a tattoo. 

4. *Note: you can group students in a breakout room or assign them to unique Google Docs to brainstorm their ideas collaboratively.

5. Invite groups back and conduct a quick “chat storm” . Tell them when you say “go” they will have 1 minute to type their practices into the chat box. If you don’t have a chat option, they can share orally in pairs or ‘round robin’ with the whole class. Follow this with a class discussion that acknowledges the importance of these practices, prior to viewing the video.

While Viewing-Understanding The Importance Of Day of the Dead 

[45 minutes]

[Learning objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

1. Give each student a link to the Día de los Muertos cluster map a graphic organizer of your choice, or tell them to draw a cluster map on a piece of paper. In their cluster map, have them write Día de los Muertos in the middle. Then in surrounding circles, write “when” “where” “why” “interesting details” “something I want to know more about”. 

2. Tell students they will watch Noemi’s presentation about Day of the Dead.  As they listen, they should take notes in their graphic organizer.

Play Video (27:30 min) (link to presentation video). Pause as appropriate so students can make notes in their graphic organizer. 

3. Invite them to share their notes: they can do so with a partner in a breakout room, they can post a picture of their notes to a discussion forum, or they can share their ideas orally with the whole class. Did they have any of the same “interesting details” or things they’d like to know more about? 

Post-Viewing: Writing and Synthesizing– Comparing Cultures

[30 minutes]

[Learning objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

5.  Ask students as a class if they think that Day of the Dead is Mexican Halloween? Either put students in small breakout groups and pass them a copy of the T-chart, or open up the T-chart yourself, share your screen with the class, and have students participate (using Raise Hand functions or the chatroom) in filling in both columns, based on what they learned during Noemi’s presentation. Prompt them to think about the traditions, rituals, icons and origination of each celebration.  Broadcast one or two of the following fact-checking references to the breakout groups, or as a class, check your facts using these references:

 Day of the Dead vs. Halloween / Day of the Dead  How did you all do? Repeat the initial question, “Do you think Day of the Dead is Mexican Halloween?” 

6. Explain that though the Day of the Dead is often mistaken for a Mexican version of Halloween, it is not. The two do share some things in common, and since the two cultures have mixed and interacted substantially, they have naturally influenced each other. Share some examples from Noemi’s presentation:

1.  The James Bond movie Spectre started the “Day of the Dead” parade. Because of the big parade in the opening scene, people in the US thought it was real, and so Mexico City decided to throw a Day of the Dead parade, so as not to disappoint, and attract visitors. To this day it is an annual event. 

(Option: Play this clip: Day of the Dead parade scene in the James Bond film, Spectre )

2. Dressing up like the fancily-dressed Catrinas (skeletons) (add a photo of a Catrinas here) was never done in Mexico, until Californians did it and it caught on. 

3. At Halloween parties, you can expect to see at least a few people dressed as calaveras– the decorative, floral skulls that are prevalent during Día de los Muertos. 

4. Fancy dress shops often market Day of the Dead-themed costumes, accessories and decorations as Halloween paraphernalia.

7. Note: *The article, “It is Not Mexican Halloween” is a good reference for this discussion.

8. Point out that immigrants and travelers both US citizens to Mexico, and Mexico citizens to US have influenced each other and have contributed beauty and life to both of these celebrations; celebrations that because of this are constantly evolving.

Presentation: Altares y Ofrendas in Día de los Muertos

[45 minutes]

[Learning objectives 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

1. Tell students,  “We are going to learn more about “altares” y “ofrendas, ” (altars and offerings) to the dead- one of the most important traditions in Day of the Dead– in many ways this is what the whole celebration is about.  Tell students, “Learning how another culture deals with losing someone they love gives us more options when dealing with our own loss. And later we will adopt this tradition and honor our own lost loved ones (human or pet) by creating our own altars with offerings.”

Viewing/Reading

2. Cue the Día de los Muertos: Ofrendas y Altares slideshow (see Appendix A) and share your screen. Move through slides, reading the text out loud as a class. For Slide 4, remind students that the Ofrendas represent the four elements water, fire, wind, and earth. Ask students to identify any of the four elements represented in the slide 4 image of the altar by typing their ideas into the chat room. Discuss. (Candles represent fire, flowers- earth; point out the blue “Papel Picado” on the table under the “Pan de Muerto” (bread of the dead). Ask them if they remember what Noemi said in her presentation about the meaning of Papel Picado? Show them the next slide and remind them that Papel Picado represents the element wind. Go to the next slide and see if they can identify any of the elements in this altar. (Water in the cup; Wind-Papel Picado; Earth-Marigolds; Fire-candles)

Note *Marigolds (Cempasúchitl) guide the spirits to the altars with their alluring scent. 

Note: * For more information and excerpt on Altars and Offerings (See Appendix A)

Viewing/ Listening

3. When you reach Slide 7- tell students you will now play a podcast “Carrying the Lost With You on Day of the Dead” by teen Anayansi Diaz-Cortez. Let them know you will be asking them to answer a few questions at the end. Either put the questions in the chat room before listening, or wait until the end and ask them, “What is the central message of the story?” “What do you think Anayansi meant when she said, “I know what I am supposed to feel, but I don’t feel it; I feel cold, hollow inside.”? “Why does Anayansi decide she has to make her own altar?” “What does she realize?”

2. Note: *Time allowing, play the podcast again and, using markers, have students draw and color what they hear, inspiring them creatively as they prepare to create their own altar. 

3. Continue the slideshow, showing students different styles of altars while discussing what the art in the altars communicates, and articulating what they are learning about the importance of altars and offerings in Mexican culture. Discussion prompts could be, “How do you feel about this tradition? Can you see how this could benefit the living? The dead? Is there any part of the tradition you can imagine adopting? Explain.”

Making Connections: Making Your Own Altar

[20+ minutes]

[Learning objectives 2, 5, 8, 9]

1. Ask students to have their graphic organizers on hand with the notes they took during Noemi’s presentation. Invite students to think about the role of art (music, costume, painting, cooking, etc.) in communicating culture and values. Ask them how the art they saw in Noemi’s Day of the Dead presentation communicated cultural aspects of Mexico. Have students reflect and discuss how the traditions and icons of this celebration convey what Mexicans value. 

2. Tell students that they will all be creating their own altars and take time before the next class to think about who they want to memorialize: A person? A pet? And ask them to begin to imagine an altar for that being. What they could bring to the altar that would represent that being? Have them make a list of things they want to put in their altar. (Depending on what they are making the altars with (See Appendix B), this can range from images of things to actual objects.)

3. Provide them guidelines to their creative project. This is independent work. (Remind them of the message in Anayansi Diaz-Cortez’s podcast about needing to create your own altar- that it is a personal journey.) Consider:

1. What materials are available to make the altars? (paper, a shoe box, a shadow box, or the table altar) (See Appendix B)  

2. Determine how they will share their work and give & receive peer feedback. (See Assessment below.)

Assessment– Art Exhibition, Interpretation, Feedback & Evaluation

[25 minutes]

[Learning objectives 2, 5, 6, 7, 8]

1. Have students share their altars with each other and discuss what each other’s altars represent. Do they focus on loss, grief and sorrow or are their altars more of a celebration of life and the person who lived it? 

2. There are many ways you can create an opportunity for them to showcase their work to you and their peers. Here are some options depending on the platform you have:

1. Zoom: Put students into breakout rooms and have them share with 3-4 classmates

2. Canvas: Have students post work into discussion forums and ask them to comment on the work of 3-4 classmates

3. Flipgrid: Have students make a short video describing their work and showing it to their classmates

4. Padlet: Create a board where students can pin their work and leave comments for peers.

5. Digital Video: Have students create videos using digital storytelling software (e.g., Adobe Spark) and share links with classmates.

6. Google Drive: Have students share their work via Google slides or compile them into a Google folder

Making Connections: Arts Integration Project– Making Your Own Altar

[20+ min]

[Learning Objectives 2,5,8,9]

Procedures:

• Invite students to think about the role of art (music, costume, painting, cooking, etc.) in communicating culture and values. Have students reflect and discuss how the traditions and icons of this celebration convey Mexican values. 

• Tell students that they will all be creating their own altars and take time before the next class to think about who they want to memorialize: A person? A pet? And ask them to begin to imagine an altar for that being. What they could bring to the altar that would represent that being? Have them make a list of things they want to put in their altar. (Depending on what they are making the altars with (See Appendix B), this can range from images of things to actual objects.)

• Provide them guidelines to their creative project. This is independent work. (Remind them of the message in Anayansi Diaz-Cortez’s podcast about needing to create your own altar- that it is a personal journey.) Consider:

  • What materials are available to make the altars? (paper, a shoe box, a shadow box, or the table altar) (See Appendix B)  

  • Determine how they will share their work and give & receive peer feedback. (See Assessment Strategies)

Invite students to “dig deeper” on these topics by providing additional options for research and reflection about Day of the Dead and how this culture honors the departed tells us about their history, and values.  In the section below, there are links to relevant sites, videos and audio clips to choose from. Students can be encouraged to reflect online about one of the media below or write a report with a classmate on something they learn from these additional sources.

Video

The Book of Life– 1hr 35min. 2014 Animation that includes a Day of the Dead Celebration. The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

Podcasts

NPR- Carrying the Lost with you on The Day of the Dead (5 min)

How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition

Literature Links

Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner– Sixteen-year-old Torrey has become quite well-known for her fashion and beauty video blog.  However, she is plagued with guilt over the fact that her little sister was killed by a drunk driver after an argument between the two girls.  When Torrey’s family moves from Colorado to Texas she finds the transition to a new school difficult.  On one hand she begins to join the ultra-popular set and on the other is drawn to Luis, who is not accepted by the leader of this crowd.  Luis brings Torrey into his family’s Day of the Dead traditions, which helps her cope with the loss of her sister.  Ultimately, Torrey must decide what means more to her: popularity or treating true friends with respect.

The Tequila Worm Viola Canales -a semi-autobiographical story about Sofia, a Mexican-American teen who has grown up in a Latino neighborhood in South Texas.  Her excellent work in school earns her a scholarship to attend a prestigious and mainly white boarding school over 300 miles away from her family.  Much of the novel centers on Sofia’s efforts to convince her parents to let her attend this school.  Throughout the novel, family traditions and celebrations are described, including those connected with the Day of the Dead.  There’s lots of humor in this novel, yet it also covers serious ground including discrimination, the difficulty of separation from family and death.

OFRENDAS Y ALTARES

• Día de los Muertos: Ofrendas Y Altares  slideshow

• “Carrying the Lost With You on Day of the Dead” podcast by Anayansi Diaz-Cortez.

More Information on Altars and Offerings–Excerpt from “The Ofrenda”: https://dayofthedead.holiday/traditions/the-ofrenda

A typical ofrenda is a simple concept. It consists of a set of items that will identify the person to whom it is dedicated along with staples of the celebration such a pan de muerto, a traditional sugary pastry adorned with bone and skull shapes made from the same bread, and marigold petals. The items that identify the person will include photographs, personal items that belonged to them, but can also include food other than the traditional one which the person in question particularly enjoyed. They will most commonly be built on a table which will be adorned with a tablecloth and china paper cut in patterns.

The standard altar will more or less be something like this: A table will be set up, if possible with two levels, by using a smaller flat surface on top. All of that will be covered on a bright-colored tablecloth and adorned with china paper cut in different patterns. On the higher up section photographs of the person will be placed along with their belongings, if available. Indicating that the offerings are meant for them. 

Personal items will vary according to the age of the deceased. For children, it is common to place toys on the altar. In some places, they are even remembered separately as angelitos (little angels) on the day before. However, the overall ritual remains unchanged. The lower portion of the altar is where the offerings are placed. The food will be placed here. Normally it will include traditional Mexican cuisine like tamales and mole, but also fruit such as oranges and sugarcane, as well as food or other items that represent the honored person’s particular tastes. Finally, it will also include a selection of food products particular to the date like calaveritas de azúcar (sugar skulls) and pan de muerto.

It is at its core a way to remember loved ones by sharing a meal with them as one would when they were alive.

Wikipedia- How the altars for the Ofrenda are designed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofrenda

An altar, for an ofrenda, contains three levels or tiers. The topmost tier identifies the dead person who is being invited to the altar, frequently with photos of the deceased, along with images of various saints, statuettes of the Virgin Mary, crucifixes, etc. which are positioned in a retablo which forms the back of the altar; on the second tier are things placed to encourage the dead to feel at home and welcome: the deceased person's favorite food items might go here, including such things as mole, candy, pan dulce, and especially a sweet bread called pan de muerto. For deceased adults, the ofrenda might include a bottle or poured shot glasses of tequila or mezcal, while if the deceased is a child a favorite toy might be placed here. The bottom-most tier almost always contains lit candles, and might also have a washbasin, mirror, soap, and a towel so that the spirit of the deceased can see and refresh themselves upon arrival at the altar. Throughout the altar are placed calaveras (decorated candied skulls made from compressed sugar) and bright orange and yellow marigolds (cempazuchitl), an Aztec flower of the dead. Ofrendas are constructed in the home as well as in village cemeteries and churches.

The ofrenda typically features types of decorations that are representative of the four elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. For example, candles are lit on the table to symbolize the element of fire. Incense from the resin of copal trees are also used in the offering in order to produce smells that will scare away evil spirits.

MAKING THE ALTARS

Making Physical Altars (No-Tech Options)

Option 1

Have students make paper altars- this site has a how-to video and you can download the free paper altar template, along with sheets of Day of the Dead symbols to cut out and color. 

Option 2

Have students make a shoebox or shadow box altar- here is a Pinterest post that includes some instructions. 

Option 3

Have students design physical altars using stacked boxes, tissue paper, photos and memorabilia of the deceased loved one.

 How To Make An Altar Video 

Making Virtual Altars (Tech Options)

Option 1

Digitally Draw your Altar using Pixilart or Sketchpad or Microsoft Paint– free web-based drawing software. Students can customize their canvas size, use the pencil and paintbrush functions to draw and color and then save and download their altar files to share with the class. (They can post their images to padlet, or you can create a google slide for each altar and 

Option 2

Sketch your altar and offerings using the Procreate App on the iPad, or any other drawing app for tablets. You can import photographs and manipulate them as well as draw objects you want to have in your altar from scratch. 

Essential Questions

• How can we use data to demonstrate the effects of resource availability on populations of an organism in an ecosystem? 

• How can we use empirical evidence to demonstrate that changes in the ecosystem affect populations?

• How can we mitigate habitat loss?

• What technical and other solutions can we use to reduce impacts of human activities on natural systems?  

• How can we use art to communicate important issues?

Learning Objectives – In this Module, students will:

1. Generate questions to learn more about the monarch butterfly and their habitat;

2. Manipulate and interpret data to demonstrate the effects of resource availability on populations of organisms in an ecosystem; 

3. Make predictions and gather details based on data and text;

4. Articulate how changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations;

5. Interact with digital storytelling as a learning tool;

6. Initiate and engage in conservation and science communication;

7. Explain how art is an effective tool for science communication;

8. Employ art as an aesthetic tool to communicate important issues;

9. Incorporate multiple perspectives to provide meaningful feedback on peers’ creative work.

Learning Outline

This unit is organized around the Day of the Dead and Monarch Butterfly video presentations. It can be taught as one 3-hour learning experience, or in modules that combine as few or many of the activities as time allows. It is designed to be taught in the order below: 

• 35 minutes: Launch Activity: Pre-Viewing– Researching the Monarch Butterfly 

• 20 minutes: While Viewing– Learning About the Culture and Science Around the Monarch Butterfly

• 15 minutes: Discussing and Synthesizing

• 60+ minutes: Demonstration- Monarch Population Decline: Data Interpretatoin & Habitat Loss

• 50 minutes: Making Connections: Arts Integration Project I– Conservation: Growing Milkweed To Protect the Monarchs 

• 60 minutes: Making Connections: Writing Arts Integration Project II– Giving Monarchs A Voice

Launch Activity: Pre-Viewing– Researching The Monarch Butterfly

[35 minutes]

[Learning objectives 1 & 3]

1. Monarch butterflies across North America migrate annually to breeding grounds in Central Mexico. Their spectacular migration coincides with the  Day of the Dead celebration each year. Mexican people believe the Monarchs carry the souls of departed loved ones home to visit for a short time during the celebrations. Unfortunately,  this tradition, and the Monarchs themselves, are in danger of extinction..

2. In this module we learn why monarch populations are in huge decline and why their annual migration is threatened. We will understand why monarchs are important within our ecosystem, and the cultural traditions  of Day of the Dead in Mexico. We will also consider how art, science, and awareness may save these endangered butterflies.  

Accessing Prior Knowledge

3. Ask students: 

4. “What do you know about butterflies in general? ”How many species of butterflies are across the world? (17,500)In the US? (750) 

Research

5. Give students the “monarch butterfly characteristics” worksheet.  Give them 10 minutes to work independently or in pairs in breakout rooms using this PBS NatureWorks article, ask them to fill the first five columns of their worksheet: Range, Habitat, Diet, Lifecycle, Behavior. Let them know they will have a chance to complete the last column later in the lesson.

What Did You Learn?

6. In a class discussion, ask students to answer:

   1. Monarch’s use advertising coloration. What is this? (answer: Using color to either warn or attract- eg. flowers’ bright colors attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds.)

   2. What is the monarch’s defense system? (answer: Eating milkweed allows them to store alkaloids that makes them smell horrible to predators.)

   3. Open up the discussion to what else students’ learned.

While Viewing– Learning About the Culture and Science Around the Monarch Butterfly

[20 minutes]

[Learning objectives 3 & 5]

1. Play video Día de los Muertos and the Monarch Butterfly (2:46 min) and listen to Noemi discuss how the monarch butterfly relates to the Day of the Dead celebration.

2. Give each student a link to a graphic organizer or cluster map. In the middle circle have them rite “monarch butterfly” and label the surrounding circles “migration”, “life cycle”, “super generation” and and  “interesting details” 

3. Play the PBS video Unraveling the Monarch Butterfly Migration Mystery (10:15 min) 

4. Pause as appropriate so students can fill in their graphic organizer.

Post Viewing–Discussing and Synthesizing

[15 minutes]

[Learning objectives 1, 3, 4, 5, 9]

1. Put students into small group breakout rooms to discuss “interesting details” they learned. 

2. Reconvene as a class and discuss. Why are monarch butterflies important in Mexican culture?

   1. How are the monarchs related to Day of the Dead?

   2. What is the monarch migration route?

   3. What interesting details did you learn about the monarch migration? Habitat?

   4. What makes the super generation of monarchs different from other generations? 

   5. What did you learn about how monarchs navigate and find their way to Mexico and back? What do genetics have to do with it?

   6. What is fascinating and unique about the monarchs’ antennae ?

   7. What plant is essential to the survival of the monarchs?

3. Open up the discussion for students to ask questions and share other “interesting details” they learned.

Demonstration- Monarch Population Decline: Data Interpretation & Habitat Loss 

[60+ minutes]

[Learning objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Data Interpretation

1. Have students access their “monarch butterfly characteristics” worksheet and fill in the sixth column, “causes for population decline.” Show students a map of the migratory pattern (add photo of monarch_migration) 

2. Ask students:

 “What do you think could have caused this massive population decline in monarch butterflies?” 

Share your screen and click on Save Our Monarchs. As a class, read this short article on the causes of monarch population decline. Have students add the causes to the sixth column of their worksheet: (ie. habitat destruction, pollinator-killing pesticides, milkweed-killing herbicides; urban development;  illegal logging of the oyamel firs; and extreme weather conditions.)

3. Distribute the data set (Turn Appendix A into a PDF) and have students create a graph of their choice- a visual representation of the monarchs overwintering in Mexico since 1994-95. 

Options: paper and pencil, Excel spreadsheet graph, or have students create an infographic poster around the data using easel.ly or piktochart. 

4. Have students either submit or showcase their work. 

Monarch Habitat Loss

1. Tell students that the monarchs depend on the Biosphere Refuge in Michoacan, Mexico. This is a sanctuary for millions of monarchs who spend the winter here, mate and prepare for the journey back north. Remind them of the scene in the film where there were so many Monarchs  it looked like the trees were made of butterflies. 

2. Unfortunately, this habitat is threatened for a few reasons:

1. Climate Change– Scientists are concerned that the Oyamel tree habitat in the Reserve will shrink or disappear by the end of the 21st century, mainly due to climate change. 

Furthermore, the butterfly's reproductive development—and development across all life stages—is triggered by temperature. The climate affects the butterfly's body temperature, which helps it find a mate, increase fecundity (fertility), and lay eggs. Climate change has already had a significant impact on the monarch's primary food source: milkweed. (photo of milkweed here)

2. Conflict of Interest– The Reserve is a very large protected area (2800 sq miles).  Some people want the land for farming, logging and other uses toward commercial development.   Others want to protect it for the monarchs. Two Mexican conservationists were recently murdered.  You can read more here.

2. Ask students what they think could be done to resolve the situation. How can everyone make a living, while keeping the monarchs protected?

3. Time allowing, stage a debate where part of the class represents loggers and farmers who want the land and resources to make a living; and the other half of the class are conservationists who see the need to protect the habitat for the monarch. Can they find a solution that works for everyone? 

4. Have students watch this 6 min video that tells the history of discovery of sanctuary with interviews of locals who talk about local people's land conservation model. 

Making Connections–  Conservation- Growing Milkweed to Protect the Monarch

[60 minutes]

[Learning objectives]

1. Topic:  Conservation efforts to help  the declining numbers of monarchs.

2. Ask students to share any examples of conservation efforts they are aware of or have been a part of. 

3. Post the following bullets into the chat and have students volunteer to read aloud:

1. Monarch butterflies west of the Rocky Mountains are teetering on the edge of extinction, with the number wintering down more than 90 percent from the 1980s. 

2. Monarchs depend on a diminishing supply of milkweed plants for reproduction and food. The western population has fallen to about 300,000 from 10 million less than four decades ago.

3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering giving monarch butterflies Endangered Species Act protections- set to be decided in December 2020. 

4. According to a study published in the scientific journal, Biological Conservation, the migratory monarchs of the western United States have a 63 percent chance of extinction in 20 years and an 84 percent chance in 50 years if current trends continue.

5. Scientists believe declines in U.S. monarch populations are linked to human development that has wiped out their habitats, as well as the destruction of roosting forests in California and Mexico; climate change; and farmers’ increasing use of pesticides that kill milkweed plants and other native vegetation.

4. Tell students, “The good news is that word is getting out on the need to protect the monarch butterfly.  In 2015, President Barack Obama released a plan for a 1500 mile “monarch highway” (share your screen and scroll through the site showing them the map and how it follows  Interstate 35 from Minnesota to Mexico).  It also has a few other names such as “monarch motorway” (add monarch motorway photo) or the “pollinator highway.” Invite them to a 1 min  chatstorm to answer “why do you think it is called the “pollinator highway?” 

5. The effort is on planting milkweed along this long route (Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants, and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.) Share that monarchs are like super athletes: typically, they fly 50 to 100 miles a day– one tagged butterfly even covered a mind-boggling 265 miles in a day.

6. Many people are working together and planting milkweed along the corridor across state boundaries. They are also speaking out about the importance of organic farming that protects native plants. 

Share excerpt from blogger, Marina Richie, who came up with an analogy between monarch butterflies and ultra-marathoners.  “While only a fraction of people can achieve running distances of 50 to 100 miles at a time, any one of us can cheer them on, help them fuel up, and see the athletes to the finish line. For monarchs, it’s a life or death journey. Our actions matter, and can be as small as planting a patch of milkweed. Start stitching together all those patches and the butterflies will find their vital resting and feeding stops.”

7. Introduce the video How To Create Your Own Butterfly Rest Stop by telling students that to help​ ​protect the monarchs as they migrate, citizens in the U.S. are resorting to a simple yet powerful tool: g​ardening. Gardens full of milkweed and nectar plants can serve both as rest stops for adult monarchs and as nurseries for their eggs.

8.  Give students the following list of questions to answer as they watch. Tell them to be prepared to share their responses:

A. What does monarch conservationist Nicole Hamilton mean when she says that going to the Reserve and seeing the migration makes you realize how small we are?

B. How is the monarch an iconic species of America?

C. What does entomologist, Lincoln Brower, mean when he says that the monarch is the “canary in the corn field”? 

D. Why should people raise only monarch caterpillars that are wild found?

E. What does the monarch conservationist mean when he says, “We can’t herbicide everything into a monoculture?”

Take Action! Grow Milkweed!

1. Ask students whether they think they could help and grow milkweed to save the monarchs. Tell them about a project that is going on in Utah, where youth-in-care at the Decker Lake facility successfully grew 250 milkweed plants!  

2. Let them know who they can contact if they want free seeds and/or guidance: 

• Jennifer Dowd: rae.enviro.inc@gmail.com Utah Monarch Advocates. She leads RAE Environmental, and the Western Monarch Pollinator Pathways efforts.  Contact for educational resources for teachers (Free milkweed seeds and planting guide!) who want to get involved. 

• Rachel Taylor: rtaylor@grnslc.com She teaches workshops for Red Butte Garden, Swaner Nature Preserve and Osher Lifelong Learning (University of Utah) 

3. Share the following milkweed plant project resources 

Get Involved! #MilkweedChallenge

• Take Action

• Western Monarch Pollinator Pathways

Inspiration:

How to Create Your Own Monarch Butterfly Rest Stop

Comed Monarch Butterfly Milkweed Project

How To Make A Monarch Butterfly Hair Clip

How to Raise Monarchs:

• Step-by-Step Detailed How-To Video- How to Raise a Caterpillar Into a Butterfly

• Teaching About the Monarch

Giving Monarchs’ A Voice

[60 minutes]

[Learning objectives 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]

1. Introduce the activity: You will each write a descriptive story from the monarch butterfly’s perspective while they migrate from Canada to the Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.

2. The story may come from the monarch’s first person voice or may have a third person perspective of an observer. The story should be detailed; include facts; and reflect what students have learned throughout the unit. Remind them that descriptive writing should leave a picture formed in the reader's mind, and involves paying close attention to the details by using all five senses: “on this migration journey, what would the monarch see, hear, smell, feel, taste?” Consider the fact that the monarchs will arrive in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration.

3. Introduce science communication as the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of, and increasing the sense of wonder about science-related topics. The communication of science takes many forms, from written articles in newspapers, magazines and blogs to podcasts and standing in front of a non-expert audience to give a lecture, etc. 

4. Using the Monarch Butterfly Story Cluster Map, have students identify 3 audiences to share their story with, increasing awareness of the monarch butterfly’s dire situation. 

5. Have students share their stories with their peers and targeted audience and report any feedback.

Assessment Strategies– Art Exhibition, Interpretation, Feedback & Evaluation

[25+ minutes]

[Learning objectives 8, 9, 10, 11]

1. Have students share their Monarch milkweed conservation project and/or writing  with each other. Discuss and provide feedback. 

2. Showcase student work. Options include:

1.  Zoom (breakout rooms)

2. Canvas (discussion forums)

3. Flipgrid (create & share student videos)

4. Padlet (Create a board where students can pin their work and leave comments for peers).

5. Digital Video ( create & share videos using digital storytelling software, e.g., Adobe Spark) 

6. Google Drive (use  Google slides  a Google folder)

Dig Deeper

Invite students to “dig deeper” on this topic by providing additional options for research and reflection on the Monarch, conservation efforts, and how to get involved.  

Literature:

Flight Behavior – a novel by Barbara Kingsolver (published 2012)

Articles:

How the Butterfly Can Shape an Ecosystem and Why We Need to Protect Them

Video:

• Flight of the Butterflies, an IMAX documentary on the topic. Watch the trailer

• Why is The Very Hungry Caterpillar so Dang Hungry? | PBS (4:30 min). 

Websites

Links to highly reputable organizations and their educational resources:

• Teaching About the Monarch

• https://monarchjointventure.org/resources/downloads-and-links

• https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/teacherandstudent/index.shtml

• https://www.worldwildlife.org/teaching-resources/toolkits/monarch-toolkit

• https://www.nwf.org/-/media/Documents/PDFs/Eco-Schools/Monarch-Mission/MonarchMission_MS-HS-curriculum_2018.ashx

• Monarch Butterfly Reserve

Blog Posts 

about the Milkweed and Monarch Project out of the University of Utah: 

https://www.stemcap.org/milkweed-plants-go-out-into-the-community/

https://www.stemcap.org/monarch-project-goes-virtual/

Get Involved

• Help Tag Monarchs: www.swmonarchs.org and join their Facebook page

  • https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestMonarchStudy

• Save Our Monarchs

• What You Can Do to Help the Monarchs