Welcome to the Monarch Joint Venture's Monarch Conservation Education Resources page. This page is a compilation of MJV and partner resources for monarch lessons, activities, and ideas. Whether you are a parent, teacher, non-formal educator or community organizer, we hope you'll find what you need here. This page will be updated as resources are made available.
MJV resources are downloadable lessons from the Monarchs and More curriculum guide. These are updated from the printed versions, and we are in the process of doing a full update of each curriculum. In the meantime, you can still purchase a copy of the Monarchs and More curriculum (K-2, 3-6, and Middle School) from the MJV Store.
MJV Resources
Partner Resources
Monarch Migration Curriculum
Monarch Migration Game (K-2 Lesson)
A fun lesson for grades k-2: Students will play a game that illustrates the challenges faced by monarchs that migrate to Mexico.
Monarch Migration Game (3-6 Lesson)
A fun lesson for grades 3-6: Students will play a game that illustrates the challenges faced by monarchs that migrate to Mexico.
Life Cycle Curriculum
Fact or Fiction (3-6)
Lesson for grades 3-6: Students will read or hear stories in which authors exaggerate animal characteristics, and compare these to fictional writings in which authors make up events that could actually happen.
Fact or Fiction (K-2)
Lesson for K-2: Students will identify the type of writing contained in a particular text as either nonfiction or fiction, and will create a narrative that is fiction or nonfiction using the skills of story-telling to share with a partner.
Student Projects on Metamorphosis (MS)
For Middle School: Students will conduct a variety of interdisciplinary projects that expand their knowledge of butterflies and other insects.
Origami Butterflies (MS)
For Middle School: Students will learn to capture the likeness of a monarch butterfly with the art of paper folding.
Origami Butterflies (3-6)
For grades 3-6: Students will learn how to capture the likeness of a monarch butterfly with the art of paper folding.
Monarch Metaphors (MS)
For Middle School: Students identify ways a given object might represent a physical or behavioral characteristic of a monarch butterfly.
Monarch Metaphors (3-6)
For grades 3-6: Students identify ways a given object might represent a physical or behavioral characteristic of a monarch butterfly.
Life Cycle Art and Literature Projects (3-6)
For grades 3-6: Students will write, draw, and create art to capture their observations of monarchs or other insects.
The Life Cycle Wheel (3-6)
For 3-6: Students will use ordinal language in association with the sequence of the butterfly life cycle.
The Life Cycle Wheel (K-2)
For K-2: Students will use ordinal language in association with the sequence of the butterfly life cycle.
Making Life Cycle Books (K-2)
For K-2: In this lesson, students will create cards of the stages and make an easy to follow book that illustrates the sequences of life cycle stages.
Comparing Life Stages (K-2)
For K-2: This lesson encourages students to compare human life cycles with insect life cycles.
Butterfly Scales (MS)
For Middle School: In this lesson, students will observe and draw scales from many parts of the monarch's body, increase their observational skills, and collect measurements.
Butterfly Scales (3-6)
For grades 3-6: Students will create observations of structure and function of monarch wings, collect measurements and detailed observations, and create questions based on observations.
Make a Caterpillar Behavior Book (K-2)
For K-2: Students recall what they have learned from observing caterpillar behavior and create lists. They then create books on caterpillars, detailing what they know caterpillars can and cannot do.
How Much Do Caterpillars Eat in One Day? (3-6)
Lesson for grades 3-6: Students will first predict, and then estimate, how much milkweed a larva consumes on a daily basis. They will learn how milkweed consumption varies with larval age and size.
How Much do Caterpillars Eat in One Day? (K-2)
K-2 lesson: Students will practice making measurements of how much milkweed is eaten by a monarch caterpillar and then record their measurements on a datasheet.
Focus on Features (MS)
For Middle School: the objective of this lesson is to increase students' observation skills and awareness of details through rearing and observing monarch larvae.
Focus on Features (3-6)
For grades 3-6: The objective of this lesson is to increase students' observation skills and awareness of details through rearing and observing monarch larvae.
Focus on Features (K-2)
For grades K-2: Introduce students to the monarch butterfly and practice making detailed observations.
Do Caterpillars Eat More as they Grow Bigger? (K-2)
K-2 Lesson: Students record the number of milkweed leaves a caterpillar eats in one day in both a data table and a bar graph (for the entire life cycle). They will create questions based on observations.
Measuring Larval Growth and Development (MS)
Lesson for Middle School grades: They will measure and record data, analyze and interpret the data, and communicate their findings.
Measuring Larval Growth and Development (3-6)
Lesson for grades 3-6: Expose students to data entry and logging information into organized data tables, and to create questions based upon their findings.
Keeping a Life Cycle Calendar (K-2)
K-2 Lesson: Create a calendar based on student's observations of all stages of the monarch life cycle.
Keeping a Journal (MS)
MJV curriculum for Middle School: This lesson helps students record observations of the monarch life cycle, while also encouraging them to question, theorize, and share opinions. The processes described in this lesson would also work well with daily or weekly phenology conversations.
Keeping a Journal (3-6)
MJV curriculum for grades 3-6: This lesson helps students record observations of the monarch life cycle, while also encouraging them to question, theorize, and share opinions.
Keeping a Journal (K-2)
MJV curriculum for K-2: Students create a journal based on their observations of all stages of the monarch lifecycle.
Curriculum Blacklines
Caterpillar Head Anatomy
Caterpillar Head anatomy diagram and SEM photograph of head.
Caterpillar Anatomy
Monarch Caterpillar Anatomy Diagram and 4th instar larva
Newly-hatched larva
Newly-hatched larva eating eggshell
Five Instars
Five instars, magnified 4X
Prepupal Larva
Prepupal larva hanging in the "J" position
Female and Male Pupae
Female and male pupae, front view
SEM Photos of Butterfly Head
SEM photos: butterfly head with ommatidia, and tip of antenna.
Other
Butterfly Life Cycle Necklace
Use noodles and string to create your very own life cycle necklace. This resource and activity was developed by the Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Plant Milkweed Life Cycle Coloring Page
Designed by Ba Rea, this coloring page makes a great companion to Ba's book, Monarch Come Play with Me! More resources are available on Basrelief.org. You can purchase Monarch Come Play with Me in the Monarch Joint Venture Store.
Monarch Life Cycle Bracelet Craft
Learn how to make the monarch life cycle into a bracelet! Created by Patrick Bryant (Park Ranger at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge), this activity is inexpensive, easy to set up, and offers a fun and effective way for kids to learn about and remember the Monarch life cycle!
Seed Ball Activity
Make seed balls for a native garden that supports pollinators, improves water and habitat quality, and attracts predators of plants pests!
Macaroni Monarchs
This life cycle assembly projects helps students create and illustrate their understanding of monarch life cycle.
Student Call to Action
Dr. Karen Oberhauser issues a challenge to students to get involved in monarch conservation. Download the letter and share it with any students that you interact with.
Student Call to Action (short)
Dr. Karen Oberhauser issues a challenge to students to get involved in monarch conservation. Download the letter (short) and share it with any students that you interact with.
Monarch Life Cycle Coloring Page
This coloring page by Kathleen Marie Garness shows the monarch butterfly life cycle. Print it out a color away!
Butterfly Birthday Coloring Page
This coloring page pairs with the book Butterfly Birthday, by Lori Harris.
Curriculum
Conservation Connection: Backyard Conservation
Developed byt the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), this topic includes virtual content for monarchs and pollinators. It is part of a larger suite of offerings called "Conservation Connection." IERCD is located in California (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties)
NACD Pollinator Field Day Curriculum Guide (English and Spanish)
From the National Association of Conservation Districts website:
The first-of-its-kind guide was developed through the support of the David Rockefeller Fund Pollinator Education Initiative Grant and the Pollinator Partnership, and provides interactive learning experiences for grades K-8 by engaging them in habitat-focused, pollinator-themed activities for the classroom and outdoors.
Each activity has been correlated to education standards and provides a pathway to valuable partnerships with local soil and water conservation districts. The new curriculum guides teachers and educators through the resources and tools needed to conduct a successful pollinator field day, including planning and implementation guidelines, materials and evaluation strategies. You can learn more about the guide by watching a webinar here.
Other curriculum on pollinators, soil life and watersheds, can be found here: https://www.nacdnet.org/conservation-education-hub/curriculum-3/
Earth Partnership - Pollinator Habitat Guide
This new pollinator habitat guide by the Earth Partnership is designed to provide curriculum to k-12 educators on teaching habitat restoration, but also can be used as a resource for anyone interested in pollinator habitat restoration.
LEGO Monarch Mission
The LEGO Community Fund U.S., National Wildlife Federation, and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association have collaborated with 25 schools in Connecticut to develop a monarch recovery and pollinator gardens at their schools. They've created a variety of lessons that engage students of all ages in environment-based learning to increase students' experiences and learning in science, technology, engineering and math!
Flight of the Butterflies
This 3D IMAX film tells the story of Dr. Fred Urquhart's journey with monarch butterflies and the phenomenal monarch migration. The film's associated curricula materials are provided in this link. The film is now availabe for rent or purchase on streaming services.
Driven to Discover: Citizen Science
The Driven to Discover: Citizen Science curriculum, developed by the University of Minnesota Exension, is a step-by-step guide for implementing different citizen science programs (including monarchs) in your setting. There are curriculum designed for youth programs and classrooms covering topics such as monarchs, birds, bees/pollinators, dragonflies and phenology. There's also a universal curriculum that can be used with any citizen science program you have an interest in!
Sit Spot Scroll Project - Curriculum Resources
This curriculum makes it easy for teachers and guardians to get kids outside and learning from trees and helps them build their observation skills. This curriculum is $14 for the whole unit, which includes 15 tree-related activities, a teacher/guardian guide, and a PowerPoint to introduce this curriculum to the students.
Downloadable Resources - Missourians For Monarchs & The Missouri Dept of Conservation
This is a statewide collaborate website resources page, with downloadable resources available at no cost. This page includes the Milkweeds & Monarchs publication, available for free download.
Some other downloadable resources provided by the Missouri Department of Resources include:
Video Segments - Missouri Department of Conservation
These video segments provide information on Missouri-specific nature and conservation issues that can tie into your curriculum unit. These videos engage students in science and provide opportunities for them to question, write about, discuss, and explain natural phenomena.
Nature-Based Resources During School Closures - Missouri Department of Conservation
The Missouri Department of Conservation offers nature-based learning resources. These resources and activities are great options for social-distancing schooling.
Discover Nature Schools - Missouri Department of Conservation
Provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation, you can find DNS information and curriculum for pre-kindergarten through high school on their webpage. This curriculum is available at no cost.
National Wildlife Federation Resources
The National Wildlife Federation encourages families to create Certified Wildlife Habitats to support the monarch butterfly and other pollinators. You can start planning today through Butterfly Heroes, using the free Schoolyard Habitats How-To Guide and Monarch Mission curriculum, and purchasing the step-by-step guidebook, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and other Backyard Wildlife by Naturalist, David Mizejewski (~$20.00 on Amazon). Other online tools include the free online Native Plant Finder and downloadable Nature Guide apps ($20 through the Apple store). Follow the National Wildlife Federation on Facebook: @wildlifehabitat; Twitter: @Garden4Wildlife; Instagram: @MonarchHeroes.
Southwest Monarch Study Educator Resources
Southwest Monarch Study is offering a variety of activities, gardening suggestions for monarchs and pollinators as well as resources. Many of these are geared to the Southwest region and learning about the monarchs there (and their habitat needs) but there are also resources that are for all regions. Please contact info@swmonarchs.org with questions regarding their content.
Native Gardening: A Deep Roots Virtual Series
This free series of 30-minute educational sessions, provided by Deep Roots, will be broadcast online on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons at 4pm Central. Recordings will be available following the live stream. More information and registration by clicking the link.
Pollinator Partnership Monarch Habitat Restoration and Management Webinar Series
This free webinar series is provided by the Pollinator Partnership. Want to learn more about monarch biology and ecology? How about best management practices for monarch habitat planning, preparation, and management? If so, this series has you covered! Each video is only 20-30 minutes and will give you the tools and knowledge to enhance your habitat for this imperiled species.
Pollinator Partnership Video Learning Center
Visit Pollinator Partnership's video learning center to access free webinars across a range of topics from monarch conservation to native bees.
Pollinator Conservation Activity (for 3rd Grade) - Monarchs Across Georgia
This Pollinator conservation activity is designed for third-grade students (and is provided by Monarchs Across Georgia). This lesson includes the Student Booklet as well as other materials linked below:
DNR Backyard Butterflies brochure (for student reference)
Selecting Plants for Pollinators: Southeastern Mixed Forest Province (for student reference)
Friend or Foe? (Grade 7 lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: (For 7th Grade) Students learn about the relationship that exists between the monarch and milkweed plants and OE. They will categorize these relationships as competitive or mutually beneficial.
Classifying a Milkweed Insect Community (Grade 5) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson has students classify the insects found around a milkweed plant into their correct Orders (for grade 5).
Survival Bingo (Grade 4) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: Students learn what a monarch will do to survive through a bingo activity (for grade 4).
Monarchs Among the Clouds (Grade 4 lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson is for 4th grade, it has students examine what types of clouds a monarch butterfly can fly through.
Track This Habitat (Grade 3) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson (for grade 3) has students study the question: what habitats of Georgia do migrating monarch butterflies use?
How do these monarchs measure up? (Grade 2) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson (for grade 2) asks students to compare measurements of different stages of the monarch lifecycle.
What happened to this habitat? (Grade 2 lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: Lesson (for Grade 2) has students examine what factors affected the monarch habitat in each given situation.
To Fly or not to Fly! (Grade 1 lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson (for 1st Grade) teaches students about the weather/environmental conditions that monarchs must live through, and engages the students in critical thinking.
The Need for Weeds! (Grade 1 lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: This lesson has students think about where the butterfly finds its basic needs and the need for milkweed.
Do you see a pattern? (K lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: for kindergarten, students are asked to extend the pattern in each row with the given shapes.
What shape is a butterfly? (K lesson) - Monarchs Across Georgia
Provided by Monarchs Across Georgia: For Kindergarten level, students will review the basic shapes and learn how to connect those to the parts of the monarch body.
Bee Smart School Garden Kit - Pollinator Partnership
This resource is provided by the Pollinator Partnership: Cultivate learning about monarchs and other pollinators by creating your own garden learning area! The Bee Smart School Garden Kit includes 10 lesson plans, worksheets, tests, and materials for the included activities. This kit is perfect for school administrators, educators, teachers, garden coordinators, and parents for use with students in grades 3 to 6. Kits options vary and cost for the kit can be found on P2's website.
Pollinator Partnership Learning Center - Education
This resource is provided by the Pollinator Partnership: Looking for curriculum, educational tools, activities, and fun facts about monarchs, gardening, and other pollinators? We've got a whole list of resources to help you put together a fun day of learning for your students!
Other
Conservation Connection: Backyard Conservation
Developed byt the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), this topic includes virtual content for monarchs and pollinators. It is part of a larger suite of offerings called "Conservation Connection." IERCD is located in California (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties)
The Butterfly Effect Film
A meditative essay on beauty, science and art, The Butterfly Effect is a documentary about ordinary people: Farmers, teachers and scientists in rural Minnesota who are concerned about the dwindling population of monarch butterflies.
Teaching About the Magnificent Monarch: Resource Recommendations for Conservation Educators
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies received a 2016 Multi-state Conservation Grant Program grant to complete the project titled Expansion and Implementation of the North American Conservation Education Strategy’s Outdoor Recreation Adoption Model (Natural Pathways to Recruitment). This grant included funding to create this resource recommendation to ensure that conservation educators have the best-available resources for teaching about the conservation of monarch butterflies. Resources were reviewed by professional conservation educators from across the United States using criteria developed from the Guidelines for Excellence: Environmental Education Materials.
Pollinator LIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure
View broadcast and webcast programs about pollinators geared for grades 4 to 8.
USFS Monarch Butterfly Teacher and Student Resources
This page on the U.S. Forest Service website is a list of resources for monarch educators and students. The list includes (but is not limited to): The Monarch Butterfly Manual, Royal Mail: A Manual for the Environmental Educator, Butterfly Conservation Initiative, and Other Helpful Websites.
Saving the Monarch Butterfly USFWS Video Series
In this video series “Saving The Monarch Butterfly,” Kim Betton reports on research and partnership successes through the Monarch Joint Venture, State Wildlife Action Plans, the value of educating our youth – our future conservationists, and how you can get involved to help make a difference.
Project Monarch Health Classroom Activities
Monarch Health provides classroom resources, including learning tools, presentations, and classroom activities relating to monarch parasites (particularly the OE parasite).
Mission Monarch Educational Kit
Mission Monarch is a research project dedicated to monarch conservation through citizen science in Canada. Their lesson covers an introduction to the biology of the monarch butterfly in Canada and its host plant, milkweed, followed by an actual 'mission' in the field. The education kit includes the teacher’s guide, the student’s booklet, a visual support (PowerPoint format), a field observation form and identification guides. It is made for the second cycle of elementary school.
Monarch Book and Coloring Book from Chicago’s Field Museum
Learn about an ancient Mexican monarch legend with the Field Museum's Monarch Book (colored in) and Monarch Coloring Book (disponible en español también). You can download a free copy at this link. Look under "Additional Resources" at the bottom of the page to find this resource!
How to Support Student Learning at Home - Missouri Department of Education
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers tips on how to support students learning at home, and actions guardians can take.
Milkweeds for Monarchs: the St. Louis Butterfly Project
The City of St. Louis has provided simplified steps for creating and caring for a monarch garden. Though this was designed for St. Louis, this is loosely appropriate for a much larger ecoregion. For information on creating a pollinator garden, you may also want to explore their How-To Guide from the City's Sustainable Neighborhood Toolkit.
City of St. Louis: Monarch Origami
Provided by the City of St. Louis: This monarch origami (with instructions) is free to print. You can access the monarch origami tutorial video here (about 4 minutes long).
National Wildlife Federation Resources
The National Wildlife Federation encourages families to create Certified Wildlife Habitats to support the monarch butterfly and other pollinators. You can start planning today through Butterfly Heroes, using the free Schoolyard Habitats How-To Guide and Monarch Mission curriculum, and purchasing the step-by-step guidebook, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and other Backyard Wildlife by Naturalist, David Mizejewski (~$20.00 on Amazon). Other online tools include the free online Native Plant Finder and downloadable Nature Guide apps ($20 through the Apple store). Follow the National Wildlife Federation on Facebook: @wildlifehabitat; Twitter: @Garden4Wildlife; Instagram: @MonarchHeroes.
SEEK app
Seek was made by iNaturalist and is a free app to download. Seek is designed for children under 13 as they do not have to create an account, they can simply download the app and start exploring. There are great links for learning more about what plants/animals they are observing, and there are challenges and "prizes" for their efforts--it is a really fun app for them (or in fact for anyone!).
iNaturalist
iNaturalist promotes getting folks outdoors in the natural world to explore and learn about plants and animals. It is a free app to download. The iNaturalist account is easy to create and begin using, and is a great way to contribute to citizen science!
Youth for Monarchs Resources
This link from the Youth for Monarchs website contains many resources for youth groups who wish to learn about monarchs; grow milkweed; teach others about monarch conservation, and learn what the Bible has to say about caring for the earth. You may access their youtube channel with educational playlists here. The Youth for Monarchs director can be reached through the Youth for Monarchs contact page.
Pollinator Partnership: Pollinator Friendly Meal Ideas
Practice food chemistry and life skills at your in-home classroom by creating these tasty pollinator reliant dessert or main dish recipes! They're a delicious way to connect the importance of pollinator conservation to our daily lives.
Pollinator Partnership Pollinator Week
Join the international celebration of monarchs and other pollinators this June! Now is the perfect time to learn about the importance of pollinators and use Pollinator Partnership's toolkit, facts, and activities to plan your celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats, and beetles.
Pollinator Partnership: Project Wingspan
Looking for a hands-on project where teens and adults can help monarchs and other pollinators? Become part of Project Wingspan! This effort is active across AR, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, PA, and WI and you can learn more about the project and become a trained volunteer by visiting the Pollinator Partnership's website.
Pollinator Partnership - Pollinator Activities
Discover fun ways kids can learn about the importance of pollinators! Resources here include: bloom bingo, crossword puzzles, word problems, and other fun activities. They are provided at no cost by the Pollinator Partnership.
Pollinator Partnership - Monarch Plant Guides
Stuck inside? This is the perfect time to plan how you can enhance your garden or landscaping for monarchs in 2020 and beyond! These free guides provide not only regional plant recommendations, but also information and best management practices on planning, preparing, and maintaining your monarch habitat.
Journey North Resources
Looking For Fun Activities To Do At Home? Look no further! Journey North has many resources for anyone with a curious mind. They feature resources related to the Monarch Life Cycle. Let’s all explore together.
Monarchs Across Georgia Coloring Book
This is a free coloring book, provided by the Monarchs Across Georgia.
Western Monarch Mystery Challenge
Western Monarch Mystery Challenge is a project to photo-document migratory monarchs after they leave the overwintering grounds on the California Coast. We are asking the community to either send an email, with date and location of the picture, to MonarchMystery@wsu.edu or upload the sighting to iNaturalist. Please contact MonarchMystery@wsu.edu with questions. There is no cost to participate.