Discussion of Challenge Question #1

These two pictures from the monarch sanctuaries held many clues about the climate there. Students from Florida, Vermont, and New Hampshire answered this challenge. You'll find all of their full answers below. Here are a few of their observations as well as the inferences* they made.

Photo #1
	January 10 4 pm
Observation	Inference
girl is not wearing a jacket	it’s fairly warm
still green leaves on the trees	it didn't get so cold that the leaves would drop
Now you try....What else do you see?	What could it mean?

Photo #2
	January 11 9 am
Observation	Inference
jackets, hats and gloves	a cold morning; temperature must go down at night
butterflies not moving	too cold for them to flap their wings or move
Now you try....What else do you see?	What could it mean?
Photos Copyright Dr. Lincoln Brower and Dr. Linda Fink, Sweet Briar College

From Florida
This answer is a combination of the answers from Mrs. Weaver’s 4 Agriscience classes: In the first picture we can see that the afternoon is warm because of the butterflies flying, which means the temperature is warm enough for them to move. In this same picture the person does not have a jacket on and is only wearng shirts. It is also sunny and clear with very few clouds in the sky. In the second picture it must be very cool because the two people are wearing jackets, hats and gloves. The butterflies on the board are not moving so it must be too cold for them to flap their wings or move. It does not seem to be as bright in the picture so the sun is not warmed the earth very much at this time of day.

From Vermont
Mrs. Thurber's Grade Four students at Ferrisburgh Central School: We can assume from the pictures that it is cool, but not cold in the habitat. We didn't see any signs of snow or ice. We also know it is not too hot, because the scientists are wearing long sleeves and jackets. There are still green leaves on the trees. It didn't get so cold that the leaves would drop. We could assume that there is adequate rainfall because the trees all look green and healthy. Since it is warm enough for the butterflies to move, they will need food. We didn't see any flowers, and there are so many butterflies that we think they will have to travel to find food.

From New Hampshire
Mrs. Nunnally's second grade class at Peter Woodbury School in Bedford, NH thinks that the climate in picture 1 shows a sunny afternoon that is fairly warm. The girl is not wearing a jacket. She is up in the mountains. The monarchs are flying in the warm weather and surrounding the girl. There are trees for the butterflies to roost in. In picture 2 it is a cold morning. The temperature must go down at night. The people are wearing jackets, hats and mittens because it is cold. The butterflies are not flying. Maybe they are too cold to fly. If it is really cold, maybe some of the monarchs died.

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