OBJECTIVE

Students will observe monarch caterpillars eating milkweed in the read aloud

Students will understand milkweed seeds will grow and turn into food for monarch caterpillars

Students will notice how milkweed uses wind to travel

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• How do seeds travel?
• What is a native plant?
• Why are native plants important to certain species?
• How can we help species that are threatened or endangered?

MATERIALS

• A book about monarchs and milkweed.These are two good choices:
  • Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost
  • Milkweed for Monarchs by Christine Van Zandt
• Dried Milkweed pods (3-4)
• Fresh milkweed plant to observe
• Printed picture or digital image of a dandelion gone to seed
• A few bowls for collected seeds

PROCEDURE

Introduction:

Ask students if anyone has made a wish on a dandelion before? Show them a picture of one so they can recognise it. Tell students that some plants have little kites attached to their seeds to help them travel and be planted somewhere new. Show students a milkweed seed still attached to its fluff and let it go in the wind. Notice together how it floats to and uses the wind. Introduce it as milkweed, the plant that is so important to the monarch caterpillars. Read a story about milkweed and monarchs either: Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost or Milkweed for Monarchs by Christine Van Zandt. If you have monarch caterpillars you could read this story to them!

Activity

Tell students that they are going to save milkweed seeds to plant later so caterpillars have food to eat and butterflies have more places to lay their eggs. 

Tell the students that to save the seeds, they need to separate the seed from the fluff. You could give them a chance to try to figure out how to do this with a small group. Rolling between your hands is a good way to separate the fluff from the seeds. This can be quite a silly fluffy mess so best to do this outside! Give each group a pod and a bowl to put the seeds in.

Or as a whole group put an open dried seed pod in a brown bag and give each student a chance to shake. Remove the fluff from the bag and the seeds should have mostly fallen to the bottom of the bag. Show the students all the milkweed seeds.

Wrap Up/Assessment: 

Package up milkweed seeds to donate or take home to plant if there is time or do this next class.

End the lesson by making milkweed wishes and give each student a milkweed seed with its fluff to release and make a wish.