Steve Palumbi & Megan Morikawa Study Coral Reef Damage in American Samoa

• In this activity, students watch a video to learn about the work of biologists Steve Palumbi and Megan Morikawa, who study coral reefs. 
• Students complete a worksheet where they answer questions about the video and practice analyzing ocean temperature data. 

Positives

• All necessary materials are provided allowing for easy implementation. 
• The video includes actual footage of coral reefs and research divers which will be engaging for students.

Additional Prerequisites

• The worksheet is available as a fillable PDF and as a google doc.
• All materials are also available in Spanish.
• The activity is designed to fill one 50-minute class period.

Differentiation

• The website includes a video of a teacher discussing how they use this resource in their class.
• Cross-curricular connections could be made with math classes by further discussing how to analyze graphs and the meaning of slope in real-world contexts, which are both touched on in the worksheet.
• Students could research and propose their own plan for how to help restore a coral reef.
• Other activities by Biointeractive on the topic of coral reefs are Interactive Exploration of Coral Bleaching, Resistance to Coral Bleaching, and Coral Reefs and Global Warming.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.