Kate Messner - The Brilliant Deep

All it takes is one: one coral gamete to start a colony in the ocean, one person to make a difference in the world, one idea to help us heal the earth.

The ongoing conservation efforts to save and rebuild the world’s coral reefs with hammer and glue, and grafts of newly grown coral are the living legacy of environmental scientist Ken Nedimyer, founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation.

Inspire creativity with this Key Stage 1 reading book about bright ideas and the wonders of our world.

Genre: Environment, coral, sea

Themes: Endangered species, conservation, environment, coral reefs, ecosystems, restoration, awareness, eco-friendly

Age: 5-7

resources book covers (1)

Activities

  1. As a class or in group create a presentation to be shown to a person of importance (government, CEO of a company or the headteacher) to explain the importance of conservation and a change they should be making. (CC: Geography, presentation skills, IT)
  2. Choosing an animal from the book or one that lives in coral reefs, create an animal profile. What does the animal look like? What does it eat? What other animals does it live with? What threats are there/is it endangered? (CC: biology, geography)
  3. Taking inspiration from the story, what environmental change can pupils think of to do at school? Could they go out and litter pick? Can they help reduce plastic use in school? How will their choice help the environment? How will they get the whole school on board? (CC: Geography, math)
  4. Choose an ecosystem on Earth and make a model in a medium of their choice. Which ecosystem is it? Where is it on Earth? What animals and plants live there? How do they work together to survive? What are the conditions – weather, temperature etc? What threats are there to this ecosystem? (CC: Art, DT, Geography, science)
  5. As a class discuss the environmental problems discussed in the book or that they know of in the world and write them down. In groups pupils then decide what they think the best solution to each of the problems are through research and discussion. Alternatively each group could be given one problem to focus on. How will their solution fix the problem? Who must take part? What will they need? How can they spread ‘the word’?
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