Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: Meeting Monarchs

Content Area: science
Grade Level(s): 2nd grade
Content Standard Addressed: S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life cycles of
different living organisms.

Technology Standard Addressed: Digital citizen

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Journey North

URL(s) to support the lesson: https://journeynorth.org/monarchs

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:
I can use online projects in my classroom to help students experience firsthand the monarch butterfly
migration in the spring. We can learn different things about the monarchs through Journey North, and learn
about the different ways we can help them to make their migration safer if we see them in the wild. As a
class, we can report sightings of the first butterfly we see, and continue reporting them as we see them pass
through. We can collect that data and report it to Journey North. We can even track the migration of
butterflies in the class and see if we can find migratory patterns.

While doing this, we can start learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. We could even order some
butterflies for the class, and watch them grow from caterpillar to pupae to butterfly and draw each day what
the bugs look like to see if we can spot any day-to-day changes in a science journal. We can talk about what
they eat, their lifespan, the eggs they lay, and what we can do to help them if we are in an area where they
can be seen. When our butterflies are grown up, we can release them as a class and then compare our daily
drawings in our science journals. The students will even be given an opportunity to speak to a scientist online
to share their findings and to discuss data they have seen on the website itself.

What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
The students will need some sort of Internet-capable device so they can reach Journey North and view the
data through there. Most of the collected data by the students will be in their science journals so we can
input it into Journey North at any time.

Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: I am giving the students the opportunity to talk to a monarch butterfly expert in a controlled
environment so their privacy is not at stake. The students can also share their findings with each other
to see if their classmates have similar observations and drawings.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): The students are finding and keeping track of their
original data and drawings by observing migratory patterns of butterflies outside and by viewing the
life cycle of our in-class butterflies. The students can take this information and submit it to Journey
North.

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 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities
c. Higher-order thinking: The students are analyzing their own data and comparing it to the data that
others collect in their class and on Journey North. The students will input their own data to Journey
North as well.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: The
students will publish all observations and revelations to Journey North to contribute to the knowledge
of monarch butterflies. Other people around the world will be able to view this information.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

The students will be able to represent what they have learned through submission onto the Journey North
monarch butterfly website. This will allow them to be engaged and work on scientific research like a real
scientist. The students will find their own data by going outside to view migratory patterns and by viewing
the life cycle of an actual butterfly in the class. They can input all of this information into Journey North, and
view the work of other students and scientists as well.
Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies: I can safely monitor every interaction with a real
scientist through Journey North. This online project also allows students to remain anonymous, and with
parent permission they can upload their own observations and view the data that others have collected.

Reflective Practice: I think this lesson would be very beneficial for many students. They are able to complete
independent work by collecting data and creating a daily observation of our in-class butterflies. They are also
learning about the life cycle and migratory patterns of wild butterflies, with the help of the tracking on
Journey North and the scientists that are available to talk to students. To extend this lesson, I would plan a
trip to a butterfly garden and speak with a tour guide there about the butterflies in the exhibit. Upon our
return, the students can write a narrative about their experience in the butterfly garden.

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