+
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Coral Reefs: Ecosystems Full of Life

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Coral reefs contain some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. Introduce reef residents to youngsters with a three-minute video. While the content is educational, it is not particularly engaging or clear. You may choose to skip the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Fading Corals

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coral Snapshots

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Using photographs and a coral reef identification key, junior marine biologists compare changes in coral cover for a No-Take Area and the surrounding unprotected area. The data that is collected is then analyzed for richness,...
+
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Cool Corals

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Young oceanographers research deep sea corals that thrive on chemosynthesis. The lesson plan focuses on the biology of the animal, preferred habitat, associations, and interactions.
+
Interactive
1
1
NOAA

Deep-Sea Corals

For Students 6th - 12th
Come take a peak at the corals in the deep. Science scholars discover the hidden world of deep-sea corals in the third installment of a 13-part series. Topics include the differences between shallow water and deep-sea corals, the slow...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Coral Polyp

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students build a coral polyp out of a banana, straw, oyster crackers, sprinkles, and more. In this coral polyp lesson plan, students also list the differences between plants and animals.
+
Interactive
NOAA

Investigating Coral Bleaching Using Data in the Classroom

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Approximately 93 percent of the individual reefs in the Great Barrier Reef suffer from coral bleaching. Scholars learn how scientists monitor coral bleaching around the world as part of a larger series. They use actual data to answer...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Scenes and Coral Reefs

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students explore plants and animals that live at various ocean levels, including beaches and coral reefs. They demonstrate their comprehension of ocean layers and life with chalk drawings. Students draw details of plant and animal life,...
+
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Create a Coral Reef

For Students 6th - 12th
Scholars create a diorama to showcase a vibrant coral reef. Six steps walk pupils through setting up the diorama box, crafting four different types of marine life, and putting it all together. 
+
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Coral Reefs in Hot Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Global warming is leaving coral reefs in hot water. What does that mean for their survival? Find out as scholars use authentic satellite data to explore the issue. Learners look for global trends in the data and research the effects the...
+
Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Corals and Chemistry

For Teachers 4th - 6th
After demonstrating the use of cabbage juice as a pH indicator, have your class experiment with their own breath, exhaling into the indicator, to show that carbon dioxide is acidic. As learners work, they also watch a video about coral...
+
Activity
NOAA

Make an Edible Coral Reef

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Coral reefs are full of an abundance of life and color. Why not celebrate it with an edible coral reef? Learners and teachers alike use cake, icing, and candies to create a tasty version of a coral reef that's complete with colors,...
+
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Climate, Corals and Change

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Global warming isn't just an issue on land; deep ocean waters are also showing troubling signs. Young scientists learn more about deep water corals and the many recent discoveries researchers have made. Then they examine data related to...
+
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Deep-Sea Ecosystems – A Tale of Deep Corals

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Many have debated which came first, the chicken or the egg, but this instructional activity debates which came first, the hydrocarbons or the carbonate reef. After a discussion on deep-sea corals, scholars receive a set of questions to...
+
Lesson Plan
Florida International University

Pipeline to the Coral Reefs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...
+
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Coral Reef Fish Survey Simulation

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
With a discussion and a brief film, introduce populations. Using paper fish models, your class participates in a simulation in which they survey numbers of fish. As a class, they tally up the different types. The challenge with this...
+
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Coral and Chemistry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this lesson...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coral Polyp Party

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students complete a project where they label the parts of a coral polyp and discuss the differences between plants and animals. Students use marshmallows, sprinkles, toothpicks, and more to label their coral polyp.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rate of Coral Growth

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Using a table of information provided, middle school marine biologists chart data on a graph to determine the impact of water depth on coral growth in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Then they answer questions that connect the data to...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coral Reefs, Polyps and Heads

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore coral communities. They explore a coral polyp and build a coral head.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Creatures in the Coral

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students describe unique adaptations of organisms that live in the coral reef habitat, read various books pertaining to coral reefs and ocean life, and construct a wheel demonstrating the relationships between certain coral reef...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pollutants on Coral

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students consider the effects of acid pollution on coral reefs. They brainstorm previous knowledge about coral reefs, examine a piece of coral and observe its reaction to acid and list ways we can prevent pollution from reaching the reefs.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art: Coral Reef Ala Oil

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students investigate Australia's Great Barrier Reef and create oil paintings of it. After their research, they apply various painting techniques to depict air bubbles, sun's radiation, and color blending. For older students, the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Guess Who? Coral

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify and group coral formations. In this coral identification lesson, 4th graders examine coral pictures, discuss vocabulary, and provide similarities and differences in the growth formations. 

Other popular searches