Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Coral Reefs in Hot Water
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...
Curated OER
Ocean Scenes and Coral Reefs
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,...
Curated OER
Fragile Reefs
Students research how coral reefs form, where they are located, and what plant and animal species find shelter in reefs, build and display diorama to represent coral and animals that live in coral reef, and participate in discussion...
Curated OER
Coral Reefs
Students research coral reefs and identify their benefits to humans, threats to the reef, how to reduce and eliminate threats, and more. In this coral reef lesson plan, students research the reefs, and take a field trip to an aquarium.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Fading Corals
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...
Florida International University
Pipeline to the Coral Reefs
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...
Curated OER
Coral Snapshots
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,...
Curated OER
The Changing Coral Reef
Young scholars record changes in the composition of a coral reef. In this Coral Reef lesson plan, students recognize the needs of Coral Reef species to survive. Young scholars chart changes in population over time. Students write an...
Curated OER
How do living and non-living structures affect coral reef habitats?
Students create model coral reefs showing surface area and including examples of communities. In this coral reef lesson, students research and explore the functions or benefits from a coral reef. Students design a benthic habitat....
Curated OER
Architects of the Coral Reef
Learners discuss reproduction in Cnidaria. in this coral reef lesson, students describe five characteristics of Cnidaria and compare and contrast the four classes. They describe the reproduction strategies they use.
Curated OER
Monitoring Coral Reefs
Students investigate data on coral reef monitoring in a marine protected area in the Florida keys. In this coral reef lesson plan, students use online data from a marine protected coral reef to complete a worksheet about coral...
Curated OER
Art: Coral Reef Ala Oil
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...
Curated OER
Gardens Under the Sea: Coral Reefs
Young scholars, with dive partners, explore coral reefs through scuba diving. They also explore radial symmetry and bilateral symmetry.
Curated OER
Who Has the Data? Monitoring Coral Reefs
High schoolers access data to characterize coral reefs. For this scientific research lesson, students access data and explain the need for such data when monitoring coral reefs. They will identify and explain three major threats to coral...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Corals and Chemistry
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...
National Wildlife Federation
Ghost Town
Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...
Curated OER
Coral Reef Community
Students explore the coral reef. In this food chain activity, students study the plants and animals of the coral reef and how they each play a role in that ecosystem. They participate in a class play to demonstrate the types of animals...
Curated OER
Corals & Coral Reefs
Young scholars describe a coral reef, how it is formed and its inhabitants. They explain the ecological and economic importance of coral reefs and discuss its present-day threats. Lesson contains adaptations for all levels.
Curated OER
Introduction to Coral Reefs
Students identify locations of coral reefs, both in the water and around the globe, identify relative depth of corals in the ocean by observing behavior of cold and warm saltwater, and create models of coral reefs.
Curated OER
Keeping Watch on Coral Reefs
Students investigate the dangers Coral Reefs face by investigating satellite images. In this environmental protection lesson, students utilize the Internet to discover the types of satellites and sensors used to provide oceanographic...
California Academy of Science
Coral Reef Habitat Match
Different animals live in different habitats, and each animal has specifically adaptive traits that make them tailor-made for their environments. This is true on land and in the ocean. Little ones examine how various marine animals have...
Curated OER
How Diverse is That?
Compare various types of biological diversity in a coral reef and calculate a numeric indicator that describes the diversity found in coral communities. Your class can work in groups to look at the abundance and distribution data of...
Curated OER
Coral Reefs, Polyps and Heads
Students explore coral communities. They explore a coral polyp and build a coral head.
Curated OER
The Changing Coral Reef Community Game
Students examine organisms that inhabit the coral reefs and their living requirements. In this coral reef lesson students chart population changes and play a game.