Episode Guide

1. Introduction to Journey North — Teachers discover how the interdisciplinary activities in the Journey North curriculum encourage students to take ownership in the learning process-the hallmark of inquiry. Learn about the basic concepts behind the Journey North migration and seasonal change study and the three sets of investigations that follow, how the Internet plays a pivotal role in the sharing of scientific data reported by experts and classrooms across the country, and how the program can be tied to local, state, and national curriculum standards.

2. Seasonal Migrations: Monarch Butterflies — Follow the popular annual migration of monarch butterflies as participants report sightings of many species both the fall and spring’s migrations. Students raise butterflies in the early fall and send them on their annual flight to Mexico for the winter, sightings along the way are tracked on the Web site, and students send paper butterflies and personal notes to classrooms in Mexico.

3. Plants and the Seasons: Tulip Gardens — Investigation leads to deeper insights into the changing seasons and a greater understanding of the requirements of scientific experimentation. Students plant tulip gardens according to a specific protocol, learning how to control variables and produce valid data for a scientific study. Through the Journey North web site, students track the blooming of similar gardens across the country, seeing how geography and climate affect the arrival of spring.

4. Sunlight and the Seasons: Mystery Class — An insider’s view of one of the most intriguing Journey North activities—the Mystery Class—investigating seasonal changes in sunlight through a global game of hide and seek. Given only the sequence of sunrise and sunset times at 10 Mystery Class locations around the world, students take an investigative journey involving the disciplines of science, math, geography, and social studies to pinpoint the exact locations of these classrooms.