Resources for Children and Educators

The following links are good external resources to introduce young people to coral reefs in simple terms with lots of pictures and questions/answer sections.

Primary school level

Search for ‘coral’ education material designed for primary schools on the National Science Daily Digital Library. The National Science Digital Library provides high quality online educational resources for teaching and learning, with current emphasis on the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Great Barrier Reef & Coral facts (KidCyber). Kidcyber is a website established in 1999 for primary students and teachers.

Kids do Ecology. This site looks at the natural environment describing different habitats (called biomes), including one on Coral Reefs. This site also has information on marine mammals, and classroom activities. The Kids Do Ecology program from the  National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) provides these scientists with an opportunity to volunteer in the Santa Barbara community by adopting local 5th grade classes.

The Coral Biome (Enchanted Learning). A terrific online resource founded in 1993 for educating children about coral reefs and their inhabitants. This site has coral reef animal printouts for colouring in or projects.

Coral Reefs and Oceans (Magic Porthole). Multimedia resources, online experiences and background information about coral reefs as well as links to other sources.

High school level

Coral reefs, oceans (general)

Microdocs (videos). The Short Attention Span Science Video Theatre offers 2-4 minute Microdocs, streaming on the web, that deliver science one idea at a time. Microdocs are written by leading scientists and are filmed on location across the world. The videos are eye-catching and full of the newest science.

Reef Education Network.

Search for ‘coral’ education material designed for high schools on the National Science Daily Digital Library. The National Science Digital Library provides high quality online educational resources for teaching and learning, with current emphasis on the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Sydney Aquarium. The Sydney aquarium’s website has free downloads of a comprehensive range of curriculum-based educational kits for grades 3-12.

National Ocean Service Education. Education resources on ocean, coastal, and climate designed for students and educators.

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation program: Education and Outreach. Resources for educators, outreach resources, and resources on ocean acidification. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. It conducts environmental research. The mission of NOAA is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources.

Coral & Coral Reefs (SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment). Animal InfoBook. Dive in to the details about the diversity, complexity, and beauty of the ocean’s coral reefs. SeaWorld is a theme park and entertainment company.

Corals and reefs. The Marine Education Society of Australasia (MESA), provides a forum for the sharing of ideas to facilitate the development of leading environmental education and interpretation programs with a coastal and marine focus. MESA also promotes the sustainable use of marine and coastal environments through education.

About Coral and Coral Reefs. Educational material developed along the 2003 film Coral Reef Adventure (watch the trailer) by MacGillivray Freeman. As with all their other films, they developed an extensive Teacher’s Guide containing classroom activities you can participate in before or after seeing the film.

Ocean World. A joint venture between NASA/JPL and the Texas A&M Department of Oceanography, USA. It focuses on Oceanography but also has lots of good information on fish and reefs.

ProjectNET for schools. The Australia Institute for Marine Science (AIMS) is an Australian research institute. This webpage is designed for school project activities, to complement existing course work, and aid students undertaking marine science projects. Where appropriate, links for further reading and information are provided. The site contains covers a wide range of topics including biology of marine animals, algae, coral reefs, the history of the Great Barrier Reef, bleaching and much more.

Coral reef fish

Fishes. The Australian museum fish site. Identify a fish, fish movie clips and FAQ about fish.

Climate change, coral bleaching

A Students Guide to Global Climate Change. Sponsored by the United States Environment Protection Agency. It explains what climate change is and what we can do about it. This link has resources for teachers and also some games for young students (middle school level).

Climate change and Coral bleaching. Imagine you are on a beautiful tropical island on the Great Barrier Reef. You put on your mask, fins and snorkel and jump into the water. But instead of the famous brightly coloured coral, you see a drab underwater landscape dominated by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and seaweed, but no corals… Nova’s Science for curious minds provides jargon-free, accessible information on various science topics. It’s managed by the Australian Academy of Science, and was established in 1997 as one of the first science communication websites in Australia.

Coral bleaching. Article by Reef Teach, a Cairns-based education centre for The Great Barrier Reef.