Teaching Tools about Monarchs

Through the activities within the monarch butterfly toolkit, students will learn how everyday food choices can impact this incredible species, their habitat, and their legendary migration. These resources are geared towards students in grades 3-5.

Background Resources for Educators

This resource guide and interactive classroom presentation are designed to give you all the information you need to teach your students about monarchs and the impacts of food production and consumption. These resources provide fun monarch facts, and information on why they matter, what threats they face, what WWF is doing to help monarchs and their habitats, and what kids can do to help.

  • Educator's Resource Guide

    Educator's Resource Guide

  • Monarch Butterfly Classroom Presentation

    Monarch Butterfly Classroom Presentation

Learning Activities

  • Science

    Don't Treat Soil Like Dirt!

    Students will conduct a science experiment to observe and record conditions of soil samples in order to understand its role in supporting biodiversity

  • The Great Monarch Migration

    Students will familiarize themselves with geography and map creation by plotting the remarkable journey of monarchs.

  • Language Arts

    Eating Our Planet

    Students will compose a creative letter to a future pen pal describing Earth's environmental health as a result of the impacts of food.

  • Math

    How Much Water is in Your Lunch?

    Students will comprehend the amount of resources, namely water, required to produce various food items by comparing data and creating a pictograph.

  • Physical Education

    Flutters and Flowers

    In this pollinator-themed twist on freeze tag, students will learn the importance of pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and bats on food availability around the world.

  • Arts Education

    Origami Butterfly Planters

    After learning about monarchs' reliance on milkweed, students will build their very own planter to support monarchs along their long migration

Printables

  • Monarch Posters (8.5x11)

    Monarch Posters (8.5x11)

  • Monarch Butterfly Posters (11x17)

    Monarch Butterfly Posters (11x17)

  • Monarch Word Puzzle

    Monarch Word Puzzle

  • Certificate of Achievement

    Certificate of Achievement

Monarch Butterfly and Food Video Playlist

We've compiled the following playlist of monarch butterfly-related videos to compliment the activities within the Monarch Butterfly Toolkit. For more educational videos and Q&A sessions with our experts, subscribe to WWF's Wild Classroom YouTube channel.