Day 5 - 2nd Week

Goals:

1. For students to gain a sense and some background as to why coral reefs are important to the world we all live in.

2. To bring together the week's activities by engaging students in a discussion on this topic.

3. Students should make connections with lead-in questions about coral reefs.

Time:

20 - 30 minutes

Resources/Materials:

chalk, chalkboard, students, notebooks

Procedure:

1. Begin this particular lesson by brainstorming why coral reefs might be important and put the ideas on the board. Students should write the ideas down in their notebooks.

2. Using the reasons for the importance of reefs (website), try to engage students into the concepts of survival that are aided by coral reefs. The website can either be investigated, or the reasons that the site gives for the importance of reefs could be just told to the students.

3. Discuss the concept of global warming and how it affects students. "Rises in global temperatures could result in what?" Corals remove and recycle carbon dioxide preventing global warming. Carbon dioxide plugs up the holes in the atmosphere that traps the sun's heat. "What would happen if ice caps began to melt all around the world?" Coral reefs allow the sun's heat to bounce off the earth. "What would happen to you if you could not sweat when you are running?"

4. Corals help shelter human life from harsh ocean storms and floods (making it possible for students to visit these beautiful areas). "Where are reefs located with regards to bodies of land and how would that affect waves during storms?"

5. Ask the students how many of them like to go fishing and discuss reefs as tremendous resources for fisheries. "Who enjoys seeing different types of animals?", "What would reefs do for you then?"

6. Reefs are ecosystems and contain many living organisms which would die without reefs. The reefs are living laboratories and contain many interrelationships among organisms and the environment. "What would happen if certain organisms were taken out of the food chain?"

7. Are medicine and cures important to the students? Evidence suggests that the coral reefs could provide important medicines.

8. Parts of the substances of the reefs are being used as bone substitutes to keep people living. They are used in reconstructive bone surgery. "If you needed surgery, would you want to use reefs as bone substitutes if they were proven safe?"

9. These are all examples that can be connected to students' everyday lives to show why coral reefs are important to our world and people.

10. Ask students their opinions on some of these ideas.

Assessment:

Assess students on how active they were in discussing the issues that are related to them through coral reefs. Use rubric for student response in discussion.

Rubric:

4 The student communicates his/her answer to questions in an insightful manner and makes connections to the importance of reefs.

3 The student effectively communicates his/her reasoning and/or answer.

2 The student demonstrates an attempt to communicate his/her answer but makes a slight error(s).

1 The student demonstrates no central purpose in his/her answering of the question given to him/her.

0 The student does not participate.

(Adopted from Green Bay Area Public Schools)

Curricular Strands:

Social Studies - relationship of reefs to daily lives and how they affect the future

Language Arts - discussion, communication of ideas and opinions

Extensions:

Extensions for this lesson include researching and reading about global warming, the recycling of carbon dioxide, marine biology, ecosystems, medicines in nature, and how substances from nature are used in medicine. These topics would fit well in a science class. Students could discuss ways to help preserve the environment. "Nature Awareness" might be a separate lesson discussing the little things that students can do to help the environment through individual action or community/school participation.

This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program