Photo: Karen Lane
Florida’s Coral Reef Lessons and Activities
In Fall of 2021, the Coral Reef Conservation Program released updated lesson plans, materials, and activities for their Coral Reef Education Trunks program (AA 35). The lesson plans were designed by three incredible educators local to the reef: Lauren Chesrown (Grades K-2 and 3-5), Beatriz Chachamovits (Grades 6-8), and Lindsay French (Grades 9-12). These resources have been adapted so that teachers can use them even without a trunk.
- Introduction to the Grades K-2 Lesson Plan
- Lesson Plans:
- Digital Materials:
- Lesson 1 PowerPoint + Notes
- Lesson 2 PowerPoint + Notes
- Lesson 3 PowerPoint + Notes
- Printed Materials:
- Lesson 1 Coral Reef Checklist + Fish Picture Cards
- Lesson 2 Coral Reef Role Play Guide + Coral Reef Role Play Species Cards
- Lesson 3 Florida’s Coral Reef Poster Template
- Reflection Sheet
We send out scheduling newsletters for the trunks each semester; educators can sign up here to receive the next newsletter.
More activities
Bubble Reef
Grade Level:
Activity to teach students about coral reproduction, specifically broadcast spawning.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Bubble%20reef.pdf
Build an Ocean
Grade Level:
Students will identify basic mangrove/seagrass/coral reef plants and animals and describe this interrelated ecosystem.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Build%20an%20Ocean.pdf
Coral: What Portion is Alive
Grade Level:
Students will comprehend the living portion of stony corals are all on the exterior non-attached surface.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20-%20What%20portion%20is%20alive.pdf
Coral Reef Coloring Sheets
Grade Level:
Students can learn about corals, reefs, and the animals that live there by completing these coloring sheets.
Find More: https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/coloring_sheets.html
Critter Collage
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in shallow coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/collage.pdf
Critter Collage II
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in deep coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/deepcollage.pdf
The Edible Coral Polyp
Grade Level:
Students will review the parts of a coral polyp by building an edible coral polyp model.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/The%20Edible%20Coral%20Polyp.pdf
Egg Carton Coral
Grade Level:
Students will construct models of coral colonies showing many aspects of the coral’s natural history – including the structure of coral polyps and the coral colony’s colonial life style.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Egg%20Carton%20Coral.pdf
How to Hide in the Ocean
Grade Level:
Students will observe and discuss the advantages of camouflage, then try their hands at designing a well-camouflaged fish.
Find More: https://www.sea.edu/academics/k-12_detail/how_to_hide_in_the_ocean
A Marine Short Story
Grade Level:
Students will read a short story on the effects of human impacts on coral reefs, discuss the different impacts, and then write their own story on what we can do to protect our corals.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/A%20Marine%20Short%20Story.pdf
Paint a Reef Mural
Grade Level:
Students identify speceis of coral reef animals and their preferred habitat niches then share that knowledge by painting a mural together.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/reefmurallesson.pdf
Reef Story Play
Grade Level:
Students will act out characters in a coral reef play.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Reef%20Story%20Play.pdf
Science Coral Reef Worksheets
Grade Level:
A variety of coral reef themed activities related to art, math and geography.
Find More: https://www.abcteach.com/directory/subjects-science-habitats-biomes-coral-reef-3773-2-1
Skip The Straw Pledge
Grade Level:
Teachers and students can learn about marine debris and take a pledge to not use plastic straws.
Find More: https://floridadep.gov/waste/waste/campaign/content/educator-resources-skip-straw
Weave a Food Web
Grade Level:
Students will discover the food/energy relationships within a food web in a coral reef habitat.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Weave%20a%20Food%20Web.pdf
Florida’s Coral Reef Lessons and Activities
In Fall of 2021, the Coral Reef Conservation Program released updated lesson plans, materials, and activities for their Coral Reef Education Trunks program (AA 35). The lesson plans were designed by three incredible educators local to the reef: Lauren Chesrown (Grades K-2 and 3-5), Beatriz Chachamovits (Grades 6-8), and Lindsay French (Grades 9-12). These resources have been adapted so that teachers can use them even without a trunk.
- Introduction to the Grades 3-5 Lesson Plan
- Lesson Plans:
- Digital Materials:
- Lesson 1 PowerPoint + Notes
- Lesson 2 PowerPoint + Notes
- Lesson 3 PowerPoint + Notes
- Printed Materials:
- Lesson 1 Engineering Design Process Sheet + Engineering Design Process Cards
- Lesson 2 Food Web Chain Reaction Guide + Food Web Poster and Species Cards
- Lesson 3 Coral Reef Rescue Mission Worksheets
- Reflection Sheet
We send out scheduling newsletters for the trunks each semester; educators can sign up here to receive the next newsletter.
More activities
Bubble Reef
Grade Level:
Activity to teach students about coral reproduction, specifically broadcast spawning.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Bubble%20reef.pdf
Build an Ocean
Grade Level:
Students will identify basic mangrove/seagrass/coral reef plants and animals and describe this interrelated ecosystem.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Build%20an%20Ocean.pdf
Coral Construction
Grade Level:
Students model the beginnings of reef formation and the challenges of coral polyp settlement in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/activity3.pdf
Coral Constructors
Grade Level:
Students explore the diversity of coral shapes using Lego building bricks, which they use to discover the impacts of storm action on different colonies within the reef.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralconstructors.pdf
Coral Kingdom
Grade Level:
Students learn about corals and their importance to marine ecosystems with host Sam as she explores Florida’s Coral reef.
Find More:https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=65E1S2lFK44&feature=youtu.be
Coral Reef Ecology Videos
Grade Level:
A playlist of seven short videos on coral reef ecology and biology, for Florida Educators.
Find More:https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/e740c41e-71a2-4c3e-85eb-c64534ca890c/coral-reef-ecology-videos/
Coral Reef Café
Grade Level:
Students will simulate how fishes on a reef feed to learn how the size and shape of a fish’s mouth can show what type of food it eats.
Find More: http://www.coralfilm.com/CRAEducatorGuide.pdf
Coral Reef Race for Survival Game
Grade Level:
To foster an understanding of the survival needs of corals in their natural habitat and some of the destructive influences of human behaviors.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20Reef%20Race%20for%20Survival.pdf
Coral: What Portion is Alive
Grade Level:
Students will comprehend the living portion of stony corals are all on the exterior non-attached surface.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20-%20What%20portion%20is%20alive.pdf
Corals Up Close
Grade Level:
Students explore coral polyp anatomy, how it fits into a colony, and coral feeding techniques by modelling coral polyps with their hands.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralupclose.pdf
Critter Collage
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in shallow coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/collage.pdf
Critter Collage II
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in deep coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/deepcollage.pdf
The Edible Coral Polyp
Grade Level:
Students will review the parts of a coral polyp by building an edible coral polyp model.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/The%20Edible%20Coral%20Polyp.pdf
Egg Carton Coral
Grade Level:
Students will construct models of coral colonies showing many aspects of the coral’s natural history – including the structure of coral polyps and the coral colony’s colonial life style.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Egg%20Carton%20Coral.pdf
Growing Corals
Grade Level:
Students will observe the growth of crystals that develop in a way similar to how coral polyps create their calcium carbonate cups.
Find More: http://da15bdaf715461308003-0c725c907c2d637068751776aeee5fbf.r7.cf1.rackcdn.com/6322d7c9e67942b1966436e731c8a1e8_k-4-growing-coral.pdf
How to Hide in the Ocean
Grade Level:
Students will observe and discuss the advantages of camouflage, then try their hands at designing a well-camouflaged fish.
Find More: https://www.sea.edu/academics/k-12_detail/how_to_hide_in_the_ocean
Manta Mysteries
Grade Level:
Students explore the challenges of identifying and tracking manta rays through role playing activities.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/activity5.pdf
Marine Food Webs
Grade Level:
Investigate contents of a plastic glove gelitain “stomach” to understand food web designs.
Find More: http://www.coralfilm.com/edu.html#guide
A Marine Short Story
Grade Level:
Students will read a short story on the effects of human impacts on coral reefs, discuss the different impacts, and then write their own story on what we can do to protect our corals.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/A%20Marine%20Short%20Story.pdf
Paint a Reef Mural
Grade Level:
Students identify speceis of coral reef animals and their preferred habitat niches then share that knowledge by painting a mural together.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/reefmurallesson.pdf
Plastics Plastics Everywhere
Grade Level:
Students explore how plastics affect the ocean environment and the impact they and their families have on the amount of plastic bags used each day, week, and year.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/plasticbaglesson.pdf
Reef Story Play
Grade Level:
Students will act out characters in a coral reef play.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Reef%20Story%20Play.pdf
Science Coral Reef Worksheets
Grade Level:
A variety of coral reef themed activities related to art, math and geography.
Find More: https://www.abcteach.com/directory/subjects-science-habitats-biomes-coral-reef-3773-2-1
Sinking Races
Grade Level:
Students will build plankton models and compete to see which sinks most slowly.
Find More: https://www.sea.edu/academics/k-12_detail/sinking_races
Skip The Straw Pledge
Grade Level:
Teachers and students can learn about marine debris and take a pledge to not use plastic straws.
Find More: https://floridadep.gov/waste/waste/campaign/content/educator-resources-skip-straw
Swimming with Lobsters
Grade Level:
Short video that shows some aspects of lobster biology.
Find More: https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/wild-kratts-4009-clip-swimming-with-lobsters/wild-kratts-4009-clip-swimming-with-lobsters/#.WnB83-SWzct
Trash Talk: Marine Debris
Grade Level:
A series of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about marine debris and how to address it. The series was awarded a regional Emmy.
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-trashtalk.html
Weave a Food Web
Grade Level:
Students will discover the food/energy relationships within a food web in a coral reef habitat.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Weave%20a%20Food%20Web.pdf
Florida’s Coral Reef Lessons and Activities
In Fall of 2021, the Coral Reef Conservation Program released updated lesson plans, materials, and activities for their Coral Reef Education Trunks program (AA 35). The lesson plans were designed by three incredible educators local to the reef: Lauren Chesrown (Grades K-2 and 3-5), Beatriz Chachamovits (Grades 6-8), and Lindsay French (Grades 9-12). These resources have been adapted so that teachers can use them even without a trunk.
- Introduction to the Grades 6-8 Lesson Plan
- Lesson Plans, including printed materials:
- Digital Materials:
- Lesson 1 PowerPoint
- Lesson 2 PowerPoint + Ocean Pollution Checklist
- Lesson 3 PowerPoint
- Additional lesson activity materials
We send out scheduling newsletters for the trunks each semester; educators can sign up here to receive the next newsletter.
More activities
Anatomy of a Coral Polyp
Grade Level:
Supplementary: labelled drawing and description of the anatomy of a coraly polyp.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/polypanatomy.pdf
Coral Aging
Grade Level:
Learn about coral growth rates using x-radiographs of coral cores and world U.S. events timelines.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Aging%20Coral.pdf
Coral Constructors
Grade Level:
Students explore the diversity of coral shapes using Lego building bricks, which they use to discover the impacts of storm action on different colonies within the reef.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralconstructors.pdf
Coral Cores: Ocean Timelines
Grade Level:
Students use x-ray images of actual coral cores to discover how coral create their calcium carbonate skeletons and what those layers of growth can tell us.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralcores.pdf
The Coral Game
Grade Level:
Students will learn coral reef ecology and the current dangers facing coral reefs through role play.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/The%20Coral%20Game.pdf
Coral Reef Crossword Puzzle
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students complete a crossword puzzle using general coral reef knowledge.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Coral%20Reef%20Crossword%20Puzzle.pdf
Coral Reef Crossword
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students test their coral reef knowledge and vocabulary with this themed crossword puzzle.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralcrossword.pdf
Coral Reef Ecology Videos
Grade Level:
A playlist of seven short videos on coral reef ecology and biology, for Florida Educators.
Find More:https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/e740c41e-71a2-4c3e-85eb-c64534ca890c/coral-reef-ecology-videos/
Coral Comeback?
Grade Level:
A collection of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about coral biology, ecology, threats, and the science of protecting and restoring coral reefs
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-coralcomeback.html
Coral Reef Word Search
Grade Level:
Supplementary: review coral reef vocabulary by searching for words from Algae to Zooxanthellae.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralwordsearch.pdf
Coral Reef Jeopardy
Grade Level:
Based on the game Jeopardy!, students will be challenged to compose the correct question when an answer is given related to coral reef biodiversity, reproduction, zonation, threats, and facts about southeast FL coral reefs.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20Reef%20Jeopardy.pdf
Coral Reefs, Polyps, and Heads
Grade Level:
Students will learn about how coral communities form, and assist in the builoding of a model.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/hilda_2.html
Coral Reef Race for Survival Game
Grade Level:
To foster an understanding of the survival needs of corals in their natural habitat and some of the destructive influences of human behaviors.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20Reef%20Race%20for%20Survival.pdf
Coral Spawning
Grade Level:
A simple lesson that allows students to explain why corals gain reproductive advantage by spawning all at once.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Spawning%20activity.pdf
Coral Spawning, Bleaching, and Effects from CO2
Grade Level:
Three lesson plans exploring coral spawning, bleaching, and effects from CO2. Each includes background info, a student experiment, and a teacher’s section.
Find More: http://www.coral.noaa.gov/resources/education.html
Coral Spawning Globe
Grade Level:
Learn about coral spawning events by making a coral spawning globe.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralspawningglobe.pdf
Coral: What Portion is Alive
Grade Level:
Students will comprehend the living portion of stony corals are all on the exterior non-attached surface.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20-%20What%20portion%20is%20alive.pdf
Corals Up Close
Grade Level:
Students explore coral polyp anatomy, how it fits into a colony, and coral feeding techniques by modelling coral polyps with their hands.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralupclose.pdf
Critter Collage
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in shallow coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/collage.pdf
Critter Collage II
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students learn about and identify animals that live in deep coral reefs.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/deepcollage.pdf
Effects of CO2 on Coral Reefs
Grade Level:
Students will be able to explain the role of CO2 in photosynthesis/cellular respiration and carbonic acid’s impact on coral skeletons and pH.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Effects%20of%20CO2%20on%20Coral%20Reefs.pdf
Egg Carton Coral
Grade Level:
Students will construct models of coral colonies showing many aspects of the coral’s natural history – including the structure of coral polyps and the coral colony’s colonial life style.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Egg%20Carton%20Coral.pdf
How to Hide in the Ocean
Grade Level:
Students will observe and discuss the advantages of camouflage, then try their hands at designing a well-camouflaged fish.
Find More: https://www.sea.edu/academics/k-12_detail/how_to_hide_in_the_ocean
Manta Mysteries
Grade Level:
Students explore the challenges of identifying and tracking manta rays through role playing activities.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/activity5.pdf
Trash Talk: Marine Debris
Grade Level:
A series of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about marine debris and how to address it. The series was awarded a regional Emmy.
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-trashtalk.html
Mealtime for Corals
Grade Level:
This activity illustrates the feeding activity of a coral colony. Individual polyps, though connected, feed independently.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Mealtime%20for%20Corals.pdf
Microfishing
Grade Level:
Students collect living microorganisms and develop skills in microscopy, observation, speculation, hypothesizing, oral presentation, and raising questions.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Mealtime%20for%20Corals.pdf
Ocean Careers Exploration
Grade Level:
Learn about the strengths of working in a diverse team while gathering information about ocean careers.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Ocean%20Careers%20Exploration.pdf
Oysters are More Than Food
Grade Level:
Short video explaining that oyster, while being important to the seafood industry, have lasting economic value when left on the reef.
Find More: https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/53d3c34c-8d11-4b41-8d4b-76de90925e1c/osyters-are-more-than-food/#.WnB80-SWzcs
Paint a Reef Mural
Grade Level:
Students identify species of coral reef animals and their preferred habitat niches then share that knowledge by painting a mural together.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/reefmurallesson.pdf
Plastics In the Water Column
Grade Level:
Compare plastic buoyancies with marine feeding strategies to understand how plastics effect marine animals.
Find More: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/-/m/pdf/education/curriculum/aquarium-6-8-plastics-in-thewater-column.pdf
Plastics Plastics Everywhere
Grade Level:
Students explore how plastics affect the ocean environment and the impact they and their families have on the amount of plastic bags used each day, week, and year.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/plasticbaglesson.pdf
Skip The Straw Pledge
Grade Level:
Teachers and students can learn about marine debris and take a pledge to not use plastic straws.
Find More: https://floridadep.gov/waste/waste/campaign/content/educator-resources-skip-straw
Sinking Races
Grade Level:
Students will build plankton models and compete to see which sinks most slowly.
Find More: https://www.sea.edu/academics/k-12_detail/sinking_races
Threat Ranking
Grade Level:
Students will brainstorm to identify, rank, and discuss realistic ways to reduce perceived local threats to coral reefs. Promotes small group discussion and identification of local priorities for community-based conservation solutions.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Threat%20Ranking.pdf
Water Clarity
Grade Level:
Students will determine the relative clarity of different bodies of water and discuss why corals need clear water.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_1.html
Water Salinity
Grade Level:
Students will determine the salinity of different water samples using a variety of methods and discuss how corals can tolerate some variation in the salinity of their environment.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_2.html
What if the Reef Dies?
Grade Level:
Students will model, using simple laboratory materials, aspects of reef ecology including how sewage discharge, CO2, and fish populations effect corals and how corals stop erosion.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/gail_2.html
Where’s the Salt?
Grade Level:
Students will learn how porous limestone filters salt.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_3.html
Working as a Team
Grade Level:
Students will learn about symbioses and that interactions between organisms go beyond predator and prey.
Find More: http://www.stri.si.edu/english/PDFs/culebra_education_eng/lets_work_on_groups.pdf
Florida’s Coral Reef Lessons and Activities
In Fall of 2021, the Coral Reef Conservation Program released updated lesson plans, materials, and activities for their Coral Reef Education Trunks program (AA 35). The lesson plans were designed by three incredible educators local to the reef: Lauren Chesrown (Grades K-2 and 3-5), Beatriz Chachamovits (Grades 6-8), and Lindsay French (Grades 9-12). These resources have been adapted so that teachers can use them even without a trunk.
- Introduction to the Grades 9-12 Lesson Plan
- Lesson Plans, including printed materials:
- Digital Materials:
- Lesson 1 PowerPoint
- Lesson 2 PowerPoint
- Lesson 3 PowerPoint
- Printed Materials
- Lesson 1 Coral Core Poster
- Lesson 3 Coral Reef Catastrophe Cards
- Reflection Sheet
We send out scheduling newsletters for the trunks each semester; educators can sign up here to receive the next newsletter.
More activities
Anatomy of a Coral Polyp
Grade Level:
Supplementary: labelled drawing and description of the anatomy of a coral polyp.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/polypanatomy.pdf
Blue Planet: Coral Seas
Grade Level:
Students will work in small groups to identify basic info about coral polyps, reefs, and natural threats; create a poster and class presentation related to one of these topics. This lesson accompanies the Discovery Channel: Blue Planet Seas of Life series.
Find More: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/blue-planet-coral-seas.cfm
Chasing Coral
Grade Level:
An educational documentary about a team of divers, photographers, and scientists that attempt to discover why coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate.
Find More: http://www.chasingcoral.com/
Coral Aging
Grade Level:
Learn about coral growth rates using x-radiographs of coral cores and world U.S. events timelines.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Aging%20Coral.pdf
Coral Comeback?
Grade Level:
A collection of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about coral biology, ecology, threats, and the science of protecting and restoring coral reefs
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-coralcomeback.html
Coral Constructors
Grade Level:
Students explore the diversity of coral shapes using Lego building bricks, which they use to discover the impacts of storm action on different colonies within the reef.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralconstructors.pdf
Coral Cores: Ocean Timelines
Grade Level:
Students use x-ray images of actual coral cores to discover how coral create their calcium carbonate skeletons and what those layers of growth can tell us.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralcores.pdf
Coral Reef Crossword Puzzle
Grade Level:
Supplementary: students complete a crossword puzzle using general coral reef knowledge.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Coral%20Reef%20Crossword%20Puzzle.pdf
Coral Reef Jeopardy
Grade Level:
Based on the game Jeopardy!, students will be challenged to compose the correct question when an answer is given related to coral reef biodiversity, reproduction, zonation, threats, and facts about southeast FL coral reefs.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/K%20-%205/Coral%20Reef%20Jeopardy.pdf
Coral Reef Protection and Restoration Videos
Grade Level:
A collection of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about coral biology, ecology, threats, and the science of protecting and restoring coral reefs
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-coralcomeback.html
Coral Spawning
Grade Level:
A simple lesson that allows students to explain why corals gain a reproductive advantage by spawning all at once.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Spawning%20activity.pdf
Coral Tutorial
Grade Level:
An overview of coral biology, threats, and disease.
Find More: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/welcome.html
Corals Up Close
Grade Level:
Students explore coral polyp anatomy, how it fits into a colony, and coral feeding techniques by modelling coral polyps with their hands.
Find More: https://nmsflowergarden.blob.core.windows.net/flowergarden-prod/media/archive/document_library/eddocs/coralupclose.pdf
Effects of CO2 on Coral Reefs
Grade Level:
Students will be able to explain the role of CO2 in photosynthesis/cellular respiration and carbonic acid’s impact on coral skeletons and pH.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Effects%20of%20CO2%20on%20Coral%20Reefs.pdf
Microfishing
Grade Level:
Students collect living microorganisms and develop skills in microscopy, observation, speculation, hypothesizing, oral presentation, and raising questions.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Mealtime%20for%20Corals.pdf
Ocean Acidification
Grade Level:
Students will describe how humans affect carbon in the atmosphere, how CO2 affects pH, and how ocean acidification affects marine life.
Find More: https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/Nemo/documents/lessons/Lesson_3/Lesson_3-Teacher’s_Guide.pdf
Ocean Careers Exploration
Grade Level:
Learn about the strengths of working in a diverse team while gathering information about ocean careers.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Ocean%20Careers%20Exploration.pdf
Oysters are More Than Food
Grade Level:
Short video explaining that oyster, while being important to the seafood industry, have lasting economic value when left on the reef.
Find More: https://florida.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/53d3c34c-8d11-4b41-8d4b-76de90925e1c/osyters-are-more-than-food/#.WnB80-SWzcs
Skip The Straw Pledge
Grade Level:
Teachers and students can learn about marine debris and take a pledge to not use plastic straws.
Find More: https://floridadep.gov/waste/waste/campaign/content/educator-resources-skip-straw
Threat Ranking
Grade Level:
Students will brainstorm to identify, rank, and discuss realistic ways to reduce perceived local threats to coral reefs. Promotes small group discussion and identification of local priorities for community-based conservation solutions.
Find More: https://southeastfloridareefs.net/uploads/Activities%20and%20lesson%20plans/6%20-%208/Threat%20Ranking.pdf
Trash Talk: Marine Debris
Grade Level:
A series of videos by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about marine debris and how to address it. The series was awarded a regional Emmy.
Find More: https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/every-full-moon/full-moon-trashtalk.html
Water Clarity
Grade Level:
Students will determine the relative clarity of different bodies of water and discuss why corals need clear water.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_1.html
Water Salinity
Grade Level:
Students will determine the salinity of different water samples using a variety of methods and discuss how corals can tolerate some variation in the salinity of their environment.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_2.html
What if the Reef Dies?
Grade Level:
Students will model, using simple laboratory materials, aspects of reef ecology including how sewage discharge, CO2, and fish populations effect corals and how corals stop erosion.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/gail_2.html
Where’s the Salt?
Grade Level:
Students will learn how porous limestone filters salt.
Find More: http://www.coexploration.org/bbsr/coral/lessons/felice_3.html