LESSON 3

Unit: The Cay

Lesson 3

Title: What is a coral reef?

Aims:    

1.  To instill in students an appreciation for science and a respect for all living creatures and natural environments.
2.  To increase student's competencies in using computer technology to research information.
3.  To introduce vocabulary associated with a coral reef.
4.  To enable students to appreciate the connection between multicultural literature and science.

Grade Level: 5th grade

Estimated Time: 2 Class periods

Setting: Classroom

Interdisciplinary Areas:  Literature/ Science/ Art

Materials:
    Novel- The Cay, by Theodore Taylor, Avon Books, New York, 1969
    Posters of coral reefs and inhabitants
    Netscape Composer
    Apple Works
    Grolier's Encyclopedia
    Classroom Encyclopedia
    Map
    Globe
    Internet

Motivation:
    1.  Relate to children's knowledge gained from the novel The Cay.
    Ask questions like:
        a.  Where were Timothy and Philip marooned?
        b.  What were the physical characteristics of the island?
        c.  What plants and animals did they encounter on the island?
    2.  Direct students to posters and on-line graphics of reefs and its inhabitants.  A good site (with advanced text) is:
    http://seaworld.org/coral_reefs/coralcr.html
    3.  Relate to children's experiences-
        a.  How many children have vacationed in the Caribbean?
        b.  How many children have gone snorkeling?
        c.  What did you see?
    4.  Brainstorm children's knowledge of reefs.  See semantic web:

 

Procedure:
    1.  Introduce vocabulary in context:
        a.  crustaceans
        b.  coral
        c.  tropics
        d.  staghorn
        e.  limestone
        f.  polyps
        g.  mollusk
        h.  barrier reef
        i.  fringing reef
        j.  atoll
        k.  sea anemones

    2.  Have students work in cooperative groups and use the On-line encyclopedia or computer encyclopedias to find the meanings of the vocabulary words:
        http://encarta.com
        http://encyclopedia.com
 These encyclopedias will give students insight to the 11 new vocabulary words related to the coral reef.

Evaluation:
    1.  Ask the following questions:
        a.  How has the computer aided you in your research on coral reefs?
        b.  How did the online resources aid you in your research?
    2.  Review what students learned by having the students make flash cards containing the words and their meanings.
    3.  Make puzzles with scrambled vocabulary words and have children rewrite words correctly.
    4.  Check knowledge of words from teacher made test.

Follow-up:
    1.  Create a dictionary of coral reef vocabulary.
    2.  Lesson to follow would be researching information about the coral reef.
 
 
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