Coral Bleaching Data Analysis and CER Activity — High School Biology Mini Bundle

Description

Coral bleaching leaves a paper trail — in temperature records and bleaching surveys that students can read for themselves. This mini bundle pairs the two halves of scientific literacy on the topic: students analyze sea-surface temperature and bleaching data, then construct evidence-based explanations of what the data shows through CER writing.

Analysis without writing stays private; writing without analysis stays shallow. The bundle insists on both, in that order.

What’s inside

• Coral Bleaching Data Analysis Activity — students graph and interpret sea-surface temperature anomalies and bleaching extent to uncover patterns in real bleaching data.
• Coral Bleaching CER Writing Activity — students evaluate evidence and construct scientific arguments about thermal stress and symbiosis breakdown.
• Files included in Word and PDF.

How it runs in class

Run the data analysis first — students build the graphs, find the temperature-bleaching pattern themselves — then assign the CER writing while the pattern is still theirs. The sequence works as a compact two-part coral arc inside a climate unit, as the quantitative core of a bleaching lesson sequence, or as performance-task style practice for evidence-based writing. Because both files come in Word and PDF, the writing piece can be assigned digitally or on paper.

Standards alignment

NGSS: HS-LS2-6. Grades 8–12 · Biology, Chemistry, Environment.

Need only one half? Take the data analysis activity on its own or the CER writing activity on its own. Running the complete phenomenon? Step up to the Coral Bleaching 5E Unit, and find free starters in the Free Library.