As a class. track the migration of a particular species over a period of time. The Journey North website tracks multiple species such as grey whales in both their fall and spring migrations along with whooping cranes and many other species. Use the maps to discover where the animals are located now, how much distance the animal has traveled since the last update and create an estimated time of arrival at the animal's summer or winter grounds.
Each animal that has its migration tracked allows opportunities for the introduction of math exercises. For example, hummingbirds, which annually migrate, provide many math opportunities. Some possible questions regarding hummingbirds include, "A ruby-throated hummingbird flaps its wings 75 times a second. How many times does the bird flap its wings in a minute and in a hour?" Since the migration is also tracked, the students can do math such as calculating the average distance traveled by the hummingbird each day to reach its summer or winter ground.
Each mass migration of animals follow a sequence of events that causes the animal to move between its summer and winter grounds. Monarch butterflies are an example of an animal that goes through many sequences. The monarch only lives four to five weeks and must lay eggs along the way north to continue the species. The monarch lays its eggs on the milkweed plant. Students will learn the life cycle of a butterfly and also can record information such as the sprouting of the milkweed plant and monitor the monarch's path north and how it relates to other factors such as temperature.
Present information on a species of animal that goes through a mass migration. This information can be on worksheets or through slide presentations. After the presentation break the students up into small groups. Give each group a box with a few questions regarding the presentation. The questions in each box should focus on a particular aspect of the migration. For example, what factors trigger migration or where the summer and winter grounds are for the animal. Each student takes a question out of the box and then shares the question and the answer with the group. The group then puts their questions and shared facts together to share with the class.