Day 3 only

Day 3 · Monarch migration

Read this passage, then answer all three questions using details from this page. Explain how a detail supports your thinking. You do not need information from another day.

A Journey Shared Across Generations

Many eastern North American monarchs travel south each fall to overwintering places in Mexico. The migration can reach 3,000 miles and may last more than two months. These describe a possible long journey, not the exact distance or schedule of every butterfly. More than two months does not set a maximum duration. Tagging and observations suggest that monarchs can sometimes travel about 70 to 75 miles in one day.

In spring, surviving butterflies that made the southward journey move back through breeding areas. Several generations of their offspring follow during spring and summer. Then a new generation begins the fall migration for the first time. The cycle therefore stretches across generations; one butterfly does not make the whole annual journey in both directions. Some monarch groups also live and breed year-round where conditions allow, so this migration pattern does not describe every monarch.

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Monarch (Danaus plexippus).” Original paraphrase; no source text reproduced.

Question 1

Trace the migration cycle described. Which butterflies travel north in spring, and which generation starts the next fall migration?

Use evidence and explain your thinking:

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Question 2

Why do “can reach 3,000 miles” and “may last more than two months” not describe a fixed trip for every butterfly? Does the time statement give a maximum duration? Explain.

Use evidence and explain your thinking:

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Question 3

A learner concludes that every monarch makes the same yearly trip south and back north. Use two details to evaluate that claim.

Use evidence and explain your thinking:

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