Forums

Hello all, Currently I have started the Coral reef scipack and I would highly recommend it. Being that I am new at this this is only my second attempt to do a scipack but have found it to be very resourceful and useful especially to those who live in Hawaii. It has a lot of valuable information and I can't wait to use it in the classroom. This scipack also talked about food chains/webs, decomposers, predators, land changes and much much more. I can't empahsize how much I enjoy this scipack. Being that I live in Hawaii it has taught me so much about our coral reef and what to do to take care of it and keep it from harm. They show wonderful pictures which is very astonishing to see and it has given me a better appreciation of our reefs. I know it sounds silly, but please take a look at this scipack. It has so much great information that will teach you more than you have ever expected. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Hi Eve,
I agree - the Coral Reef SciPack is outstanding! There is another thread that discusses other resources for teachers who are interested in teaching about coral reefs:
Light Energy in Life Science
I hope you find this additional information helpful. It must be sheer joy to teach in such a wonderful setting like Hawaii!!!
My Best,
Carolyn

Hi Eve, I also completed the Coral Reef SciPack and have to agree with you, I learned a lot too! Not only did my content knowledge about the reefs increase, but I too noticed the correlations of the scipack to the 4th grade life science content standards in regards to: ecosystems, food chains, various roles in the food chain, producers, consumers, etc. It also ties in nicely with learning about the technology being developed. We taught our life science unit this year with an emphasis on marine debris and connecting the content with what’s really happening in the world today - especially with all of the debris that is headed our way from last year’s tsunami in Japan. One of our learning activities that I tried was to have students use images from the internet to create a powerpoint presention of a marine food chain. We also had students pretend that they were presenting their presentation to the Waikiki Aquarium for a new exhibit in one of the tanks. Some students even created their own organisms to add to their food chain. They came up with some very creative creatures! Students enjoyed the task and were also able to hone their powerpoint skills, as well as practice some of their presentation skills when sharing their slideshows with their classmates. Have you already used the scipack in your classroom? If you have, can you tell me more about what you tried? I am thinking about using some of the animations and some of the other interactive parts of the scipack. What do you think? Thanks again Eve! Margeaux

I like the idea of integrating technology with your activity & allowing the students to create a powerpoint presentation! I, too, had the students come up with their own creatures & create their own food chain with a written explanation describing it. Though, they created it on posters last year, but I think I may want them to create a powerpoint or prezi this year. Thanks for the great idea! I'm learning a lot from these scipacks & find them to be very valuable resources!

I just finished the coral reef scipack having only limited prior knowledge. I think my vocabulary increased by about a hundred words. It was a real great introduction to the topic and I learned a lot.(I got a 100% on the assessment!) It is so depressing that there is so much stress on the reefs. All the more reason for myself as a teacher to get the word out and I feel that the scipack has given me a knowledge base to help enlighten my students. Coral is amazing and life around the reefs in so interconnected. I really hope my two young children will be able to snorkel around a coral reef when they are older. (and their children too, for that matter) Now, I am off to check out the sciguide. Thanks for all your enthusiasm and for the teaching ideas.

Mahalo for sharing Eve! I'll look into completing this Scipack, now that you've increase my curiousity =)

I completed the coral reef scipack last semester and found it to be a great resource! I used the information to create lessons that dealt with the flow of matter and energy within the coral reef ecosystem. This semester I am exploring the "Flow of Matter and Energy in Ecosystems" scipack and am very excited to use some of the resources to enhance my lessons on coral reefs. My students loved learning about coral reefs last year and it is so relevant to students in Hawaii! I have just started exploring this new scipack but am excited to learn more and tie the two scipacks together. I teach 6th grade science, and the only life science benchmark we have deals with the flow of matter and energy within ecosystems! I have also been field testing an ocean sciences curriculum from UC Berkely so my students have been learning science through the ocean for much of the year already, so it will be exciting to introduce coral reefs. If anyone has any good resources/ideas for the 6th grade life science benchmark, it would be appreciated!

Hi Marg, (sorry I didnt want to butcher your name) I have not yet tried using stuff from the SciPack, but I was also thinking to do a powerpoint using all the wonderful pictures they have to offer. I think the students will gain a better understanding through that. However it did help spark some ideas. If I do anything remarkable I will surely let you know. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Eve

Hi all, Last semester I developed a unit on coral reefs, and in the process I learned so much. (One of the reasons I chose coral reefs was because of my curiosity with this topic). Coral reefs are a topic that can be used in various aspects of science. There are so many great websites, but in particular I found a compilation of activities that I found very useful. Some of the activities I choose to include in my unit were: creating an edible coral polyp, the coral reef community (in which students learn about the coral reef ecosystem), and threats to the coral reef. Here is the link to that resource: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED448049.pdf Hope it is of good use to you!