Educational Videos
Our educational videos provide a general overview of the background information covered in an individual unit. These videos are embedded below and can also be found on our website in the Background Information section of each unit. Most units contain videos that are approximately 2-6 minutes in length.
All of our educational videos are accompanied by a Watch It! worksheet, as well as a video script for students who may be hearing impaired or need additional assistance. We suggest that your child watches the video and fills out the accompanying Watch It! worksheet before beginning each unit.
Unit 1: Ecology
What is Ecology?
Ecology deals with living things and the way they interact with each other and their physical surroundings. Explore the ecology of a coral reef and the creatures that call it home.
Unit 2: Classification
Naming Nature
Every plant and animal can be classified by its shared characteristics. Classification helps scientists tell species apart. This educational video explains modern biological classification from the most general (domain) to the most specific (species) categories.
Unit 3: Coral Anatomy
Coral: What is It?
What are corals? Corals are tiny animals called polyps. Discover how corals build reefs with the help of another organism.
Form Fits Function
Organisms have structures that are designed to perform a particular function(s). The video highlights several animals and provides examples of how their structures perform certain functions.
Unit 4: Coral Feeding
Coral: What does it eat?
Corals use a variety of methods to feed. One technique includes forming a special symbiotic relationship with another reef organism. Learn more about this relationship and other ways that corals obtain energy.
Unit 5: Coral Reproduction
Corals: The Birds and the Bees
Corals use different asexual and sexual reproductive strategies to ensure their survival. Most corals cannot move, so they have adapted unique ways of reproducing. Check it out here.
Unit 7: Distribution
Where are coral reefs found?
Reef-building corals cannot survive everywhere in the ocean. Learn about coral reef distribution, or the geographic location where they can be found throughout the world.
Unit 11: Reef Zonation
Coral Reef Zones
Scientists divide coral reefs into zones. They base these divisions on location within the reef and characteristics such as depth, wave action, light intensity, temperature, and water chemistry. You’ll be able to recognize the zones of a coral reef after watching this video.
Other Educational Videos:
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
Crown-of-thorns starfish are normally a part of a coral reef food web in the Indian and Pacific Oceans; however, when their populations explode, they can cause damaging effects to the coral reef. Learn about this potentially damaging thorny starfish that can have up to 21 arms and grow up to a meter in diameter.
Overfishing
Billions of people around the world rely on the ocean for food; however, the ocean is being depleted of its sea life due to overfishing. Learn how overfishing occurs and what we can do to prevent it.
Pollution
You may not realize it, but what we do every day impacts the fate of coral reefs. Pollution negatively impacts this ecosystem. Find out how pollution affects coral reefs and the actions you can take to protect them.
Atoll Creation
It can take millions of years for an atoll to form! Don’t worry, it only takes 4 minutes to learn how this entire process works in this video.
Coral Reef Food Web
Coral reefs are composed of millions of creatures. Discover some of the organisms that are a part of this ecosystem and how they are connected in the food web.
Mangrove Forests
Mangroves are one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. These trees and shrubs have adapted to living in saltwater. You will be amazed at the importance of these coastal ecosystems when you watch this video.
