Lesson Plan - The Flight of Their Lives

Watch the Video
Watch the video “Monarchs on the Move” as a class, then discuss: Why do monarchs migrate in the fall? What is epic or amazing about this migration?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• entomologist
• ancestors

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them identify reasons the number of monarch butterflies is decreasing.

1. What trend does the author discuss in the first section of the article?
The trend described in the first section of the article is that the number of monarchs is dropping. The article says that last year, “the number of monarchs in Mexico dropped nearly 60 percent from the year before.” The article goes on to state that the overall number of monarchs has dipped over the past 30 years.
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2. What does the article say is a mystery that scientists are still figuring out?
The article notes that it is a mystery how a new generation of monarchs can make the migration to Mexico and land on the same trees that their ancestors did.
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3. Describe two threats that monarch butterflies face.
According to the article, one main threat that monarchs face is the disappearance of milkweed, the plant that monarchs depend on as a place to lay eggs and a food source for monarch caterpillars. Another threat is the loss of habitat along monarchs’ migration routes. The article explains that “to make way for homes and farmland, people have cut down many of the trees where monarchs live.”
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FEATURED SKILL: Reading a Chart
Distribute the skill builder “Miles of Migration” and have students use the graph to compare the lengths of six species’ one-way migrations. Have students brainstorm other ways they could show the same data (e.g., a pictograph or map).
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