Comparing
Migrations
Monarch Butterflies and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Use this photo to launch your students into a compare and contrast study of monarch and hummingbird migrations.
Challenge your young scientists to look at the photo and think about the question: Who is traveling too?
Invite them to predict who else might be migrating north at the same time as monarch butterflies. Encourage them to make predictions and ask questions about how the migrations might be similar and different.
Photo:
Bud Hensley
Can you guess who's traveling too? >>
Use this journal page for an effective pre-reading activity for non-fiction reading and investigative study. The 'fill-in-the-blank' format encourages students to make predictions, pose focused questions, and sets them off on a purposeful path of inquiry. Get students thinking about the similarities and differences between monarch butterfly and hummingbird migration.
Provide possible sources students can use to find answers. Here are some helpful Journey North links you can provide to get them started:
Remind students to use effective nonfiction reading strategies to gather information they need to fill in the blacks on the page:
- Reading multiple texts for information,
- slowing down their rate of reading to make sure they understand,
- rereading to ensure comprehension,
- using what they know from observations and prior knowledge to help them make connections.
Invite students to work together to track down the facts that will fill in the blanks and lead to discoveries!
Fill-in-the-blank Journal Page
