educational, from the sidebar snippets of additional information with enhanced illus- trations to the suggestions for how you can help save the monarchs’ winter refuges and how to raise monarch butterflies at home or school.
Even the name of the main character, Danaus, is based on the scientific name for the monarch butterfly — Danaus plexip- pus. Following the story of a tiny female caterpillar emerging from her tiny egg on a milkweed plant in a hayfield of Massa- chusetts as she travels south through Cape May, NJ to the monarchs’ winter refuge in Mexico is a harrowing, yet uplifting tale. This 2,000-mile journey is filled with nar- row escapes and near misses as the insects follow instincts stored in their ganglia to “fly south.” Presenting this real-life experience through the eyes of a fictional character is an effective and engaging technique. It is impossible not to care about the fate of this butterfly. A hundred mil- lion monarchs reach their winter habitat in Mexico although countless millions die during the migration and more perish in their winter refuge through cold snaps (butterflies cannot fly if the temperature is below 55°F) and predators. After resting and mating, the monarchs leave the protec- tion of the oyamel fir forests and head north to lay their eggs on the leaves of milkweed plants.
The milkweed sap is poisonous and the bright yellow and black colors of the monarch caterpillar warn predators away. These offspring will continue the trek north, but will not live as long or travel as far as Danaus’s generation. Danausís third of fourth generation descendants will be the ones that will return to Mexico from the northern parts of the United States and Canada. Consider this, the monarch but- terfly has been a native North American species for at least two million years and has been nominated as the national insect of the United States.
The writing is gripping and informa-
tive. The illustrations are authentic and resplendent. After meeting the illustrator of An Extraordinary Life, Bob Marstall, at a Childrens’ Book Illustrators’ Conference at the University of Findlay this summer, I hit my local library to check out the companion book, “A Dragon in the Sky, The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly.” Wow! Once again, learning was made painless
CLEARING Fall 2017
through the exciting story of Anax, a male green darner dragonfly (Anax ju- nius — “lord and master of June”) who also had to face the challenges of being both prey and predator as he experi- enced incomplete metamorphosis from egg to nymph to dragonfly. Hatched in a swamp in Western New York State, he too, traveled through Cape May, NJ on his way to Southwestern Florida in his quest to mate. Dragonflies are among the oldest insects on earth. They lived 300 million years ago, predating the dinosaurs. One dragonfly fossil imprint measured a wingspan of 27 inches. As a teacher, I can see utilizing these books to teach a myriad of subjects: Geography affords the opportunity for students to read maps and calculate the 2000 miles of migration of both species; Math encourages the use of measure- ment from 1/25th of an inch for the new caterpillar, 1 mm for the size of the dragonfly egg, and creating timelines of migration and life spans; Science affords investigating food chains, habitats, migration, and understanding the relationship of prey and predator. Vocabulary development provides the investigation of new words: cremaster, chrysalis, instar, mandibles, nymph, proboscis, pupa, complete and incom- plete metamorphosis, molting, sun compass navigation, and Latin deriva- tives. Dragonfly and damselfly nymphs are now used in some states as pollution indicator species for lakes and streams - their presence provides a vital clue to the health of a river or lake. Creative writing opportunities abound. The similarities of the transformation of but- terfly and dragonfly are uncanny. Every classroom library should have such a versatile set of intriguing and visually attractive books.
Susan MacDougall is a science specialist for the Brick Township, NJ School District. She frequently visits Cape May to observe shorebird migration and is currently making preparations to visit the winter monarch refuges in Mexico.
(continued from page 53) Maritime and Place-based
Learning
organizations involved in water-quality monitoring and regulation. At the high school level, we have developed a Maritime Academy where students gain skills in craftsmanship, creativity, engineering and vessel operations. These career and technical education classes give students entry level experience in a broad range of maritime industry professions, which are an important sector of living-wage jobs in Washington State’s economy. Students in these classes have a chance to build a baidarka (a traditional Aleutian kayak made with a wood frame and canvas cover), design and build a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), or learn to sail. In addition, core academic classes embrace maritime and place-based learning. For example, in a high school English class, students are reading John Steinbeck and learning about the Western Flyer, the boat on which Steinbeck spent a year in the Sea of Cortez. It is currently under restoration in the Port Townsend shipyard. Through the work of the Maritime Discovery Schools Initiative, learning in our schools has taken on context and meaning. Students understand what they are learning since we build into the curriculum the answer to “Why am I learning this?” When we ask students what they like about place- based learning, they say they like helping the community and getting out of the classroom to learn.
Our teachers say that developing the community partnerships and the time to collaborate with colleagues on projects are some of the most valuable aspects of the place-based learning emphasis. Our parents and community see value in the meaningful learning that students are doing and are proud of the ways that our schools reflect the values of our community. In Port Townsend, we see that a thriving, vibrant school system with meaningful community connections is key to building a strong community. Our maritime and place- based learning initiative is creating just that.
Sarah Rubenstein is the Project Director at Maritime Discovery Schools in Port Townsend, Washington.
www.clearingmagazine.org
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