Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide

Transcription

1 Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide Grade Level: 6-8 Curriculum Focus: Animals Lesson Duration: Two class periods Program Description Sharks, eels, turtles. Caves, lagoons, water gardens. It's all under the Red Sea for students to discover. The Red Sea is one of the world's most colorful ecosystems. It's home to hundreds of invertebrates and species of fish, and spectacular coral reefs. Get your students below the surface and let them slither through the Red Sea's more than 800 awesome miles of coral architecture and marine life. Onscreen Questions and Activities Pre-viewing questions: o What do you already know about coral reef systems? o Where are coral reefs usually located? o As you watch the program, note the many types of life you can find in and around a reef system and the ways these plants and animals depend on the coral for their survival. Post-viewing question: o The coral wall of the Red Sea runs for over 800 miles. Discuss the role of coral in the Red Sea ecosystem and analyze ways in which coral is essential for other types of animal life in the sea. o How do you think the Red Sea would be different without its coral reefs? Activity: Choose one species in the program and write a short story for children. Illustrate your story with pictures that explain to younger students how the animal is uniquely suited to its environment. Lesson Plan Student Objectives Understand that the animals that live in a coral reef are uniquely suited to their environment.

2 Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide 2 Write and illustrate short books that explain to younger children how coral reef animals are uniquely suited to their environment. Materials Coral Reefs video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player Computer with Internet access Illustrated books and articles about the plants and animals that inhabit coral reefs Paper, stapler, and art materials for creating books Published nonfiction and fiction books on science topics for young children Procedures 1. Let students know that they are going to work individually or in pairs to write and illustrate short books that explain to younger children how the animals that inhabit coral reefs are uniquely suited to their environment. 2. Have students research the types of organisms that live in the reefs. They may use the materials you have provided, encyclopedias, books and periodicals from the library, or the Internet. Students should focus on finding out how specific animals that live in the reefs are adapted to their environments. (Adaptations may include camouflage, symbiosis, defenses, hunting strategies, and so on.) 3. Allow students to choose whether they will work on their books individually or with a partner. They should begin by deciding whether they will write nonfiction books that present information in a lively and interesting way or fictional stories about life in coral reefs. Remind students that even if they choose fiction, their stories should communicate sound scientific information to readers. 4. Before students begin their own books, give them the opportunity to look over several published children s nonfiction and fiction books on science topics. 5. Have students write rough drafts of their books; then revise, edit, and proofread what they have written. If they wish, they can give their drafts to other students for peer review before revising, editing, and proofreading. 6. Have students rewrite their texts, planning how much text should appear on each page in order to leave room for illustrations. Students may handwrite or use a computer. 7. Finally, students can add illustrations. Suggest that they may want to draw their illustrations on separate paper and then cut and paste the pictures into the book. 8. When the illustrations are completed, students can staple the pages together to make booklets. 9. If possible, arrange for your students to read their books to younger children and observe the children s reactions. They might prepare some questions to ask the children in order to determine whether the books succeeded in teaching about coral reefs animals.

3 Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide 3 Discussion Questions 1. Explain how and why different animals in a coral reef ecosystem depend on each other. To help understand the interdependencies in coral reefs, think about relationships between species in an ecosystem with which you may be more familiar, such as the rain forest. 2. Hypothesize what the Red Sea would look like today if it had never been connected to the Indian Ocean. 3. Hypothesize the reasons why life in the Red Sea can be so abundant while the land surrounding the sea is so barren. 4. Describe the types of adaptations you think coral reef animals might have. In what ways might fish have adapted to be able to survive life in a coral reef? 5. Describe the effects that you think the Ice Age may have had on the Red Sea. Hypothesize the effects of another ice age happening in the future. Hypothesize the effects of global warming. 6. The rift between Arabia and Africa is growing larger about 3 inches per year. Hypothesize how this expansion of the Red Sea might affect life in the sea over the next millennium. Assessment Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson. 3 points: Student s children s book includes plentiful, accurate information; clear, wellorganized writing; imaginative, entertaining presentation; detailed, carefully executed illustrations. 2 points: Student s children s book needs more research; clearly written; adequate presentation; accurate illustrations. 1 point: Student s children s book includes few facts; writing sometimes unclear; adequate but less-than-lively presentation; illustrations lacking in detail. Vocabulary atoll Definition: A coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon. Context: A coral atoll is a small island made of coral. ecosystem Definition: A community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit. Context: The coral reef ecosystem is the combination of all forms of life in the coral reef; they all interact with and depend upon each other in various ways. lagoon Definition: A shallow sound, channel, or pond near or communicating with a larger body of water.

4 Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide 4 Context: A coral atoll surrounds a lagoon, which may contain its own water life. larva Definition: The early form of an animal that at birth or hatching is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose before assuming the adult characteristics. Context: When fish eggs hatch, larvae emerge from the shells, eventually to develop into mature fish. mangrove Definition: Any of a genus of tropical maritime trees or shrubs that send out many prop roots and form dense masses important in coastal land building. Context: Mangrove trees can often be seen on the shorelines of tropical or subtropical coasts, including the Red Sea. plankton Definition: The passively floating or weakly swimming usually minute animal and plant life of a body of water. Context: Plankton are the microscopic organisms that many sea creatures eat. Academic Standards Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit This lesson plan addresses the following national standards: Science Life Science: Understands the structure and function of cells and organisms. Science Life Science: Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment. National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K-12 to promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site: This lesson plan addresses the following national standards: Life Science: Structure and function in living systems; Populations and ecosystems

5 Coral Reefs: Teacher s Guide 5 Support Materials Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit