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Island Formation, Constructing a Coral Island

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Island Formation, Constructing a Coral Island cean Literacy Essential Principle 2 Ã>`ÊÀ>Ì ÃÌÀÕVÌ}Ê>Ê À>ÊÃ>` i>Ì iÀÊÕÃÌÊ>`Êi>Ê `` !BSTRACT 4HE PROCESS OF CORAL ISLAND FORMATION IS OFTEN TABLE ASWELLASPICTURESOFCORALISLANDSFROMALLOVERTHE DIFFICULTFORMIDDLESCHOOLSTUDENTSTOCOMPREHEND#ORALISLAND WORLD HADIMMEDIATELYCAPTIVATEDTHESTUDENTS1UESTIONS FORMATIONISADYNAMICPROCESS ANDSTUDENTSSHOULDHAVETHE SUCHASh7HATISCORALMADEOFvANDh(OWCANCORALBE OPPORTUNITYTOEXPERIENCETHISPROCESSINASYNERGISTICCONTEXT PART OF AN ISLANDv CIRCULATED THROUGH THE CLASSROOM4HE 4HE AUTHORS PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CONSTRUCTING STUDENTSCOMMENTSANDQUESTIONSINCLUDEDSEVERALMISCON ACORALISLAND3TUDENTSPLAYANINTERACTIVEROLEINTHISACTIVITY CEPTIONS SUCH AS ONE STUDENTS THEORY THAT hCORAL ISLANDS WHICH GIVES THEM BOTH VISUAL AND TACTILE EXPERIENCES 4HE AREFORMEDFROMWHITEMETEORSTHATFALLOUTOFTHESKYAND ACTIVITYWASDESIGNEDFORTH GRADESTUDENTS!FTERCOMPLETING INTOTHEOCEANv THEACTIVITY THESTUDENTSCOULDACCURATELYDESCRIBETHESIGNIFICANT 4HE CORALS BEAUTIFUL YET ALIEN QUALITY ALREADY HAD STU COMPONENTSANDPROCESSOFCORALISLANDFORMATION!DDITIONALLY DENTSMESMERIZED4HEIDEATHATTHESEALIENOBJECTSCOULD STUDENTSUNDERSTOODTHATTHISISANONGOINGGEOLOGICPROCESS FORMANISLANDFURTHERPIQUEDTHEIRCURIOSITY4HEFORMATION OFACORALISLANDISTHERESULTOFADYNAMICBUTSLOWPROCESS +EYWORDSATOLL CORALISLAND ISLANDFORMATION LAGOON THAT INVOLVES THE GROWTH OF CORAL ON AN OCEANIC VOLCANO )NQUIRY INTO AUTHENTIC QUESTIONS GENERATED FROM STUDENT ANDTHESUBSEQUENTSUBSIDENCEOFTHEVOLCANOANDCREATION EXPERIENCESISTHECENTRALSTRATEGYFORTEACHINGSCIENCE OF A CORAL ATOLL 'RIGG )LLUSTRATING THIS PROCESS IN .ATIONAL3CIENCE%DUCATION3TANDARDS.ATIONAL2ESEARCH THECLASSROOMISAWAYTOCOVERTHESECONDOCEANLITERACY #OUNCIL ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLE BY INVESTIGATING HOW SUBSIDENCE AND EROSIVEPROCESSESCANHELPSHAPE%ARTHSFEATURES.ATIONAL ORALISLANDSAREFORMEDFROMLARGEWHITEMOUNTAINS 'EOGRAPHIC3OCIETYETAL º THATLIEBENEATHTHEOCEAN vYELLEDONESIXTH GRADE #ORALISLANDFORMATIONISAPROCESSTHATTAKESMILLIONS STUDENT WHEN ASKED HOW CORAL ISLANDS ARE FORMED 4HE OFYEARS)TBEGINSWITHANEWLYFORMEDVOLCANICISLAND VARIOUSKINDSOFCORALSKELETONSONTHESIXTH GRADESTUDENTS THAT RISES ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN!S THE ISLAND STABILIZESANDMAGMASTOPSFLOWINGINTOTHEOCEAN CORAL STARTSTOGROWINTHESHALLOWWATERAROUNDTHEVOLCANIC (%!4(%2!534).ISAN.3& '+GRADUATEFELLOWATTHE5NI ISLAND4HIS NEW FRINGING CORAL REEF CONTAINS MANY TINY VERSITYOF/REGONS)NSTITUTEOF-ARINE"IOLOGYIN#HARLESTON /RE GON3HETEACHESMARINEBIOLOGYTOFIFTH ANDSIXTH GRADESTUDENTS ANIMALS CALLEDCORALPOLYPS THATCREATELIMESTONESHELLS AT-ILLICOMA)NTERMEDIATE3CHOOLIN#OOS"AY /REGON4HEFOCUS 4HEPOLYPSGROWANDDEVELOPONANYSOLIDSURFACE BUILD OF HER MASTERS THESIS IS THE PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THE SEA INGONTHESKELETALREMAINSOFOTHERPOLYPS#ONSEQUENTLY ANEMONE-ETRIDIUMSENILEWITHINTHE3OUTH3LOUGH%STUARY #OOS ACORALREEFISCOMPOSEDOFATHINLAYEROFLIVINGCORALON "AY /REGON 3HE DEVELOPED THIS ACTIVITY WITH SUPPORT FROM THE TOPOFTHELIMESTONEREMAINSOFDEADCORAL$ARWIN .ATIONAL3CIENCE&OUNDATION'+'RANTNUMBER$'% ANDNUMBER$'% % MAILHAUSTIN UOREGONEDU 'RIGG /VER MILLIONS OF YEARS THE VOLCANIC ISLAND UNDERGOES !-%,)!%$$ISASIXTH GRADETEACHERAT-ILLICOMA)NTERMEDIATE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES &IRST THE ISLAND MOVES AWAY FROM THE 3CHOOLIN#OOS"AY /REGON3HESERVEDASAN.3& '+SIXTH GRADEMENTORTEACHERDURINGTHEnACADEMICSCHOOLYEAR MAGMAHOTSPOTTHATORIGINALLYCAUSEDITTOGROW SONONEW % MAIL!MELIA% COOS BAYKORUS MATERIAL IS ADDED TO THE ISLAND !S THE MAGMA COOLS THE #OPYRIGHTÚ(ELDREF0UBLICATIONS ROCKS DENSITY INCREASES RESULTING IN SUBSIDENCE SINKING 3#)%.#%!#4)6)4)%3 6OL .O OF THE ISLAND 3ECOND THE EROSIVE PROCESSES OF WIND RAIN 0REACTIVITY!SSESSMENT AND WAVES SLOWLY DISINTEGRATE THE ISLANDS SURFACE MAKING "EFORE THE CORAL ISLAND FORMATION ACTIVITY STUDENTS IT SMALLER &INALLY RISING SEA LEVELS RESULTING FROM GLOBAL ANSWEREDQUESTIONSTHATASSESSEDTHEIRUNDERSTANDINGOF CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSE THE ISLAND TO SINK BELOW THE SURFACE ISLAND FORMATION AND CONNECTED THEIR PREVIOUS KNOWL 4HEFRINGINGCORALREEFGRADUALLYSINKSORSUBSIDES WITHITS EDGEOFISLANDSWITHTHEACTIVITY1UESTIONSINCLUDEDTHE ISLAND(OWEVER NEWCORALPOLYPSCONTINUETOGROWONTOP FOLLOWING7HATGEOLOGICPROCESSESARERESPONSIBLEFOR OFTHELIMESTONESKELETONS DEVELOPINGFASTENOUGHTOKEEP THEFORMATIONOFISLANDS7HATMATERIALSCOMPOSECORAL THESURFACEOFTHECORALREEFATSEALEVEL!LAGOONSTARTSTO ISLANDS(OWDOYOUTHINKCORALISLANDSFORM4YPICAL FORMBETWEENTHEISLANDANDTHEREEF4HISLAGOONEVENTUALLY STUDENTRESPONSESINVOLVEDCONCEPTSSUCHASTHETECTONIC SURROUNDSTHESINKINGVOLCANICISLAND ANDTHECORALREEFCON SHIFTING OF PLATES THE RISING OF SEA LEVELS THE RISE OF TINUESTOGROWUPAROUNDTHEISLAND BECOMINGABARRIERREEF VOLCANOES ANDTHEAMALGAMATIONOFSKELETONSOFSMALL /VERTIME THEENTIREVOLCANICISLANDSINKSBELOWTHESURFACE ANIMALS CALLED POLYPS3TUDENTSALSOMADECONNECTIONS OFTHEOCEAN LEAVINGANATOLL ARINGOFGROWINGCORALWITHAN BETWEENTHERISEOFVOLCANICISLANDSANDTHEFORMATION OPENLAGOONINITSCENTER$ARWIN'RIGG OFCORALREEFS "ECAUSETHEPROCESSOFCORALISLANDFORMATIONENCOMPASSES ABSTRACTGEOLOGICPROCESSESLIKEEROSIONANDSUBSIDENCE ITCAN /BJECTIVESOF#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION!CTIVITY BE HARD TO COMPREHEND #OMBINING BOTH VISUAL AND TACTILE EXPERIENCESASSTUDENTSCONSTRUCTTHEIROWNCORALISLANDISAN 3TUDENTSCANDISTINGUISHBETWEENDIFFERENTISLANDTYPES EFFECTIVEWAYTOHELPMIDDLESCHOOLSTUDENTSLEARNABOUTCORAL 3TUDENTSCANDESCRIBEHOWACORALISLANDFORMSANDWHAT ISLANDFORMATION!SSTUDENTSBECOMEINVOLVEDINTHEFORMATION CREATES THE ATOLL USING VOCABULARY SUCH AS BARRIER REEF PROCESS THEY SYNTHESIZE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS AND STAGES OF FRINGINGREEF SUBSIDENCE ATOLL ANDLAGOON CORALISLANDFORMATIONANDSEEHOWEACHSTAGECONTRIBUTESTOTHE 3TUDENTS CAN EXPLAIN HOW THE FORMATION OF THEIR ISLAND OVERALLPROCESS5LTIMATELY THISACTIVITYINCREASESTHESTUDENTS MODELSTHATOFANACTUALCORALISLAND SCIENTIFICLITERACY ENABLINGTHEMTODESCRIBE EXPLAIN ANDTEACH THISPROCESSTOOTHERS.ATIONAL2ESEARCH#OUNCIL -ATERIALS "ACKGROUND vCoral skeleton set (can be purchased from Carolina Bio- logical Supply) ,ESSON#ONTEXT vFive pictures of coral islands or atolls from around the 3IXTH GRADE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN THE FOLLOWING INTRO world (e.g., Tuamotu Islands, Caroline Islands, Maldives, DUCTORYLESSONTOGAINSOMEBACKGROUNDONCORALISLANDFOR Laccadive Islands, Chagos Archipelago); images can be MATIONBEFOREBEGINNINGTHEHANDS ONACTIVITY4OHELPTHEM found online or in old calendars such as the National BEGINTHINKINGABOUTISLANDS STUDENTSWORKEDINGROUPSOF Geographic Islands calendar THREETOOBSERVEVARIOUSOBJECTSTYPICALLYFOUNDONISLANDS vSchematic for the initial setup of the coral island activity SUCHASFISHBONES SHELLS SAND ANDCORAL ASWELLASPICTURES (for the teacher; see Figure 1) OFDIFFERENTTYPESOFISLANDS!FTERTHISOBSERVATION EACHSTU vThree Coral Island Formation worksheets for each stu- DENTWROTEHISORHEROWNDEFINITIONOFANISLANDANDSHAREDIT dent (see Figures 2–4) WITHTHECLASS4HETEACHERLEDADISCUSSIONOFTHESEIDEAS AND vOverhead on coral island formation (see Figure 5) STUDENTSVOTEDONTHEBESTDEFINITION!FTERTHEDISCUSSION THE vOne can of white shaving cream, labeled “coral reef TEACHERGAVESTUDENTSAFORMALDEFINITIONOFANISLANDALAND mix,” for each group MASS SMALLERTHANACONTINENT ENTIRELYSURROUNDEDBYWATER vOne empty soda can for each group 3TUDENTSWROTETHISDEFINITIONNEXTTOTHEIROWN vOne 7.6 s 12.7 cm (3 s 5 in.) index card per group; 4HETEACHERTHENUSEDPICTURESANDOVERHEADSTOINTRODUCE fold each card into the shape of a cone and tape to top VOLCANIC BARRIER AND CONTINENTAL ISLANDS 3TUDENTS ASKED of can QUESTIONSANDRECORDEDBASICDEFINITIVEFEATURESOFEACHTYPE vOne tub of water for each group (water level should be OF ISLAND INCLUDING THE MATERIAL FROM WHICH THE ISLAND IS 2.5–5.0 cm from the top, so the water will not overflow COMPOSED HOWTHEISLANDFORMS ANDWHEREISLANDSOFTHIS when the can displaces water) TYPEAREFOUND%ACHGROUPOFSTUDENTSTHENPICKEDONEOFTHE vOne blue paper plate for each group with a hole cut from THREEISLANDTYPESTORESEARCHINGREATERDETAIL/VERTHENEXT the center (the hole should be the exact diameter of the FEWDAYS STUDENTSCREATEDPOSTERSLISTINGTHEIRISLANDTYPES soda can, so the can barely fits through), and labeled SPECIFICCHARACTERISTICS DETAILSABOUTITSPROCESSOFFORMATION “ocean” in large letters with a permanent marker ANDDESCRIPTIONSOFWHEREITCANBEFOUND%ACHGROUPHAD v60 marbles for each group MINTOPRESENTITSFINISHEDISLANDPOSTERTOTHECLASS vPaper towels (for cleaning up spilled water) &ALL 3#)%.#%!#4)6)4)%3 #ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION!CTIVITY3ETUP 3TAGE)))#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION+EY &)'52%3TAGE)))#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATIONWORKSHEETKEY &)'52%)NITIALSETUPFORCORALISLANDFORMATIONACTIVITY 4HREE3TAGESOF#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION 3TAGE)#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION+EY &)'52%3TAGE)#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATIONWORKSHEETKEY &)'52% #ORAL )SLAND &ORMATION OVERHEAD WHICH SHOWSTHETHREEDIFFERENTSTAGESANDCOMPONENTSOFTHE ISLAND FORMATION PROCESS &IGURE MODIFIED FROM HTTP 3TAGE))#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATION+EY WWWCORISNOAAGOVABOUTWHAT?AREATOLL?DEV?JPG 0ROCEDURE 4HEACTIVITYTAKESAPPROXIMATELYMIN!CLASSROOM WITHANOVERHEADPROJECTOR TABLES ANDSINKISIDEALFOR THISACTIVITY 0LACE STUDENTS IN GROUPS OF THREE AND ASSIGN EACH STUDENTALETTERFORTHEACTIVITYSTUDENT! STUDENT" AND STUDENT# (ANGPICTURESOFDIFFERENTCORALISLANDSFROMAROUND THE WORLD ON THE BLACKBOARD AND WALLS OF THE CLASSROOM !SKEACHGROUPTODISCUSSTHEPICTURESANDPREDICTHOWTHEY &)'52%3TAGE))#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATIONWORKSHEETKEY THINK A CORAL ISLAND IS FORMED BASED ON THEIR OBSERVATION 3#)%.#%!#4)6)4)%3 6OL .O OFTHECORALATTHEIRTABLEANDTHEPICTURESOFCORALISLANDS )NSTRUCTSTUDENTSTOLABELTHEPARTSOFTHEIRISLANDONTHE 4ELL STUDENTS TO SAVE THEIR PREDICTIONS FOR THE DISCUSSION 3TAGE))#ORAL)SLAND&ORMATIONWORKSHEET&IGURE AFTERTHEACTIVITY 4OMODELTHEULTIMATESTAGEINCORALISLANDFORMATION
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