Page 142 - Dive the Seas and More-2

Coral Reef Teacher’s Guide Life on the Coral Reef

Playing the Game:

1. Have students put on their headbands.
2. Have them form a circle and sit down. Give
each student a stake and have him/her either
secure it firmly in the ground or hold the stake
in his/her hand.
3. Have students look around the circle and
think about how life in the circle is connected.
Tell them that they have now become their ani-
mal, and they are to take turns passing a ball of
I am a ______________. I am connected to
________________ because ____________(Ex-
ample: “I am the Sun. I am connected to the
Hard Coral because I give its zooxanthellae en-
ergy to make food.” Then the Hard Coral might
say, “I am the Hard Coral. I am connected to
the Butterflyfish because I try to protect it from
predators.” Then the Butterflyfish might say,
“I am the Butterflyfish. I am connected to the
Shark because he eats me.” And so on.) Model
this with the students, and then explain that as
they make a connection, they are to wrap the
ball of string securely around their stake and
then pass it on to the animal that they are con-
nected to. Tell them that it is okay to have more
than one connection to each animal. As the game
progresses, encourage students to involve each
animal in the circle. The teacher can refer to the
Coral Reef Sample Connections to assist the
students.
4. After students have played for some time,
have them stop and discuss which animals seem
to have the most connections. Discuss why this
might be the case. If done carefully, the web can
be lifted up and actually saved for some time.
It is fun to bring in another class and share the
com- pleted web with them.
FOLLOW-UP/EXTENSION:
Have students write a play about Coral Reef
Con‐ nections. They can wear their headbands
as costumes for the performance.

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