Coral reef ecology
Coral reefs
Three free lessons for ages 14 to 18
The older edition of our coral reef lessons. Students calculate how slowly corals regrow, play a grazer game that shows why reefs need fish that eat algae, and judge which reefs are most likely to recover from a heatwave.
- Ages
- 14 to 18
- Time
- About an hour per lesson
- Subjects
- Biology, chemistry and maths
- Hands-on
- Coral growth maths, a grazer simulation game and a reef resilience assessment
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Lesson 1: A partnership in the sunlight
Coral symbiosis, calcification, growth rates and reproduction, with growth calculations that show why reefs recover slowly.
- Ages
- 14 to 18 (grades 9 to 12)
- Time
- 60 minutes
- You need
- One coral maths worksheet per student
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Lesson 2: Competition and grazers
Competition for space on reefs, the role of herbivores, the Jamaica phase shift and its limits, and a grazer simulation game.
- Ages
- 14 to 18 (grades 9 to 12)
- Time
- 60 to 75 minutes
- You need
- One board and record sheet per pair, a dice, counters or pencils
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Lesson 3: Resilience: how reefs bounce back
What makes reefs resilient, the Scott Reef recovery, and a structured assessment of three fictional reefs.
- Ages
- 14 to 18 (grades 9 to 12)
- Time
- 60 minutes
- You need
- One assessment sheet per group
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Bring your students to the reef
We host school groups at our base in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, for diving or snorkelling, beach clean-ups and tree planting alongside our conservation team. Every visit follows our child protection policy.