Goals:

1.Ý The students will explore certain aspects of coral reefs such as their lifestyles and feeding habits.

2.Ý Work effectively as individuals to create their Polyp.

3.Ý Understand vocabulary words that are coral reef oriented.

4.Ý To have the students use their creative writing skills to express what they know about coral reefs and their habitats.

Materials:

Modeling clay or play dough

Paper cups

Popsicle sticks (optional:  may be used to hold the polyp in place to make this model more effective.)

Dictionaries

Information on coral reefs

Arnold, Caroline. (1988). A Walk on the Great Barrier Reef. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Internet source at http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/inst)
 

Computer database and Internet access

Paper and pencils to write with.

Time:

This lesson requires between 5 and 7 hours. About 2-3 hours to create their polyp and to discuss ways the polyp works. About 1-2 hours for the students to look up information and about 1 hour to work and discuss the vocabulary words from the lesson.

Materials:

Vocabulary list created by the teacher on words that may be unfamiliar to the students

Dictionaries for each student

Procedure:

1.Ý The teacher will pass out the vocabulary list to the students.  He or she will go through and read each of the words on the list to make sure that the students know what the word sounds like.  At the same time the teacher may want to appoint a helper to pass out the dictionaries to each student.

2.Ý The students will work on their own to find a definition of each of the vocabulary words.  Encourage the students to draw pictures of the definitions.

3.Ý Next, bring everyone back as a whole group and discuss the definitions.  The teacher should provide a picture for the students to compare to what they have drawn.

4.Ý The teacher may consider making a bulletin board with these vocabulary words or just posting the words throughout the room with a picture and a definition.

5.Ý After this activity is done have the students conduct research to find pictures of coral reefs on the Internet , or in books or magazines. This will help in the next phase.

Materials:

Paper cups

Popsicle sticks (optional)

Modeling clay or play dough

Procedure:

1.Ý Pass out a ball of clay to the students. Have the students divide this into two smaller balls, one approximately 2/3 in size and the other about 1/3 in size.

Next take them through the steps to make a polyp:

2.  Have the students use the larger ball to make the base of the polyp. This should be wider at the bottom than it is at the top. Discuss with the students that the base holds the corals vital organs for it to survive.

3.Ý The students will create the mouth at the top end of the base. This is just a hole in the top of the base. Explain this is where food and waste are released and taken in.

4.Ý The students will now take the smaller ball and make the tentacles. They will pinch off a piece of clay and roll it until it becomes long and thin. The students can put as many tentacles as they would like on the coral. However, they must save a piece of clay. Explain what the tentacles are used for and that different types of coral have different numbers of tentacles.

5.Ý Once the coral polyps are done, you may want the students to join them together to form a coral colony.

6.Ý Use the information and pictures that the students found in their research to compare the models to the pictures or descriptions to see if they look close to the real thing.

Materials:

Pencil

Paper

Procedure:

1.Ý Ask the students to write about any topic focusing on coral reefs. They may use whatever form they want (essay, story, poetry, etc.)

2.Ý When the students are finished, have those that would like to read what they wrote out loud to the class. Have those that do not want to read out loud, create a class notebook for the students to read what they wrote.. This way they are still able to share their work with their peers.

3.Ý Have the students edit and revise their works with the help of their classmates. Also, have them illustrate their work with drawings or other forms of illustrations that will be helpful. Have the other students in the class grade the work of other students.

Assessment:

1.Ý Each student will be assessed on their individual efforts in this lesson. (Criteria for success = The teacher will have a list of the expectations he or she wants the students to accomplish through this activity. The teacher will check each one off the student does and decide on a grade based on this.)

2.Ý Each individual must submit his or her vocabulary worksheet. (Criteria for success = Students will receive a total of 10 points for the work they did on the vocabulary sheet based on how much the students completed.)

3.Ý Each student must submit a creative writing piece. (Criteria for success = Other students will assess the writings of the students. The students will put a 4 on top if it was really good, a 3 if it was good, a 2 if it was poorly written, and a 1 if it was very poorly written. The teacher may then decide on the grade equivalent.)

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

1.Ý Language Arts-
          Using the dictionary to find the definition of each of the vocabulary words.
          Using creative writing

2.Ý Science- Creating a coral reef polyp from clay and discussing the parts of the coral reef.

3.Ý Math- Counting the number of tentacles on the coral reef.

Possible Extensions:

1.Ý Go more in depth with the coral by finding out how the coral reef gets its color. Have the students select a specific kind of coral and create it's color. Have the students select a specific kind of coral and create it using the correct colors.

2.Ý Have the students discuss the feeding habits of the coral polyp.  How does it capture its food?

3.Ý Explore more in depth about the reef building process.

4.Ý Have the students create an edible coral polyp. Directions for this may be found at the Internet site: http://www.blacktop.com/coralforest/tguide.html

Resource:

Sea World Education Department. (1993).Ý All About Corals and Coral Reefs: 4-8 Teaching Guide. Sea World Inc.

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Coral Reefs - developed by Kristen Treadway, Jenny Mavis, T. J. Beck, & Jim O'Keefe

This page submitted by the St. Norbert College Ocean Voyager Program