Introduction

This package has been developed to help teachers from most year levels and most learning areas to unravel some of the basic questions about temperate reefs - such as discovering what a temperate reef is.

The activities and exercises provided in this package are suggestions and guidelines only. Educators are welcome to adopt and adapt them to suit their own particular situation with students. There are no hard and fast rules about how to undertake any of these activities; however, the scientific information provided is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

This resource is very much about teacher learning, so for some activities content knowledge has been provided to support your classroom practice. For example, how much do you know about algae? This is a topic about which most of us know fairly little, except that the River Torrens is usually closed for a period every summer due to algae. We have provided this content knowledge in the spirit of sharing and education and it is completely up to you how much of it you read. If you want to find out more for yourself we have also provided you with weblinks and other resources to enable you to do this. Please note that you must have an active link to the internet for the internet links to work.

We strongly recommend that you have a look through the images provided on this site. They have all been donated copyright free (for educational purposes only) and they will give you an insight into temperate reefs: their colour, their complexity, their beauty and their diversity. Familiarise yourself with these images as this will help you when learning with your students.

The years are structured thus:

• Primary Years: 1-5
• Middle Years: 6-8
• Senior Years: 9-10

Within the Primary or Middle Years sections you will find a series of 3 categories labelled:

• 1 Introducing & exploring reefs
• 2 Temperate reefs & humans
• 3 Protecting temperate reefs

These categories are labelled with the numbers ‘1, 2, 3’ so that you know in which order to use them. It will be very difficult for you if you go straight into activities in the ‘Protecting temperate reefs’ section, without having first introduced your students to temperate reefs through category number 1.

The Senior Years category is constructed differently. All activities at this level have been designed by learning area, so when you open this folder you will see a series of categroies titled by learning area, to enable you to find the relevant activities for your teaching topics.

Explore this website. In each level you will find a number of categories containing activities, websites and other resources all pertaining to temperate reefs. Other files include the photographs (please read the copyright notice), SACSA links, references to scientific papers and data files.

To help you make this experience fully rounded, we recommend that you hire the ‘Jewels of the Sea’ kits from the Nature Education Centre (hosted by Norwood Primary School, 8363 0238). These kits contain everything you could possibly need to help make your ocean learning experience a fully comprehensive one, even if you are teaching in locations very far away from the ocean.

I hope this will be a journey of discovery for you and your students and that you enjoy learning about South Australian temperate reefs together.