Kate Messner - The Brilliant Deep

All it takes is one:

One coral gamete to start a colony

One person to make a difference

One idea to change the world

 

The ongoing 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 Ken Nedimyer.

 

Kate Messner and Matthew Forsythe tell the true story of the coral restoration pioneer in this brilliant tribute to the wonders of nature and the power of human ingenuity.

Genre: Environment, coral, sea

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

Age: 5-7

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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