Snorkel Scene

crayola supplies

Crayola® Oil Pastels
Construction Paper

household supplies

fabric (optional)

Why?

Use Crayola® Oil Pastels to draw Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef ecosystem.

Steps

1. Explore various resources to research the location and characteristics of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. Note varieties of interdependent living things.
2. Use Crayola Oil Pastels on white construction paper to illustrate a small part of the ecosystem. Include several interdependent components. Refer to illustrations and photographs when drawing details.
3. Try these techniques when using oil pastels:
To achieve interesting color combinations, layer colors and blend with a soft cloth or finger.
To depict air bubbles in the ecosystem, fill in small circular areas with white and outline with a color.
To represent energy from the sun, add radiating lines of color through the water.

adaptations

Younger children view illustrations in books or on the Internet, creating drawings that depict basic interdependent things such as fish, plants, coral, algae, and the sun.

Secondary students incorporate this pastel drawing as part of a larger written research project explaining the interaction and interdependence of components within ecosystems. Drawings can be on a larger scale with labels identifying species of plants, animals, and especially coral.

Create cards identifying and describing each component in the ecosystem drawing and explain how it is interdependent within the system. Link cards with yarn or string to their representations.

benefits

Students research, identify, and describe elements of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef ecosystem.

Children identify how specific living and nonliving components interact within the ecosystem.

Children create a visual representation of living and nonliving components of the Great Barrier Reef.

grades

Grades 1 to 3
Grades 4 to 6
Grades 7 to 12

subjects

Science
Visual Arts

time

30 to 60 minutes
Multiple Sessions

curriculum standards links

US: Research U.S. Standards
UK: Research UK Standards
Canada: Research Canada Standards