The Amazing Oyster Reef
Provided by: The Nature Conservancy|Published on: August 21, 2025|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Physics, Engineering
Authors: Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy
Location: North America > United States > Florida, North America > United States > Louisiana, North America > United States > Texas, South America
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson from Nature Lab by The Nature Conservancy, students will explore oyster reefs as a nature-based alternative to sea walls for addressing coastal damage.
- Students explore data for tides in a given area, measure waves and the damage they cause, propose possible solutions, analyze oyster reefs as a solution to coastal erosion and damage, and perform wave-simulating tests to determine the best size and type of barrier to reduce wave energy in different circumstances.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Directions for using the NOAA tides and currents tool for instruction are easy to follow and include helpful images to guide teachers.
- Students will benefit from seeing the value in nature-based solutions, which is a core component of this lesson.
- The hands-on activity in this lesson will engage students and solidify their understanding of the best solution to address coastal damage.
Prerequisites
- The links to the images in the Materials section may be broken. Additionally, the link for the coastal Louisiana USGS video may be broken. Some links for additional resources may be broken.
- Teachers will need to gather various materials that may not be in the classroom, such as a concrete paver, blocks, sand, and stones, for some of the activities.
- Students should understand that waves have energy and that energy can be measured.
- Students should understand exponents and how to solve for missing variables in a data table.
- The link in the Explain section of Session 1 goes just to the homepage, rather than the section on tides and currents. Students will need to use this link to get to that specific information.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers may want to pause the Amazing Oyster Reefs video to discuss and define green infrastructure and gray infrastructure. Students can give examples of each and list the benefits of the oyster reef as green infrastructure.
- When using the tides and currents tool, students may benefit from having a coastal location assigned to them to explore using the map.
- Teachers can connect this to the UN Sustainable Development Goals by using this as an example of how addressing Goal 15, Life on Land, can also address Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Goal 13, Climate Action.
- Teachers can use the data analyzed in this lesson to practice working with Excel or another spreadsheet application. Students can practice converting the data to a .csv file, sorting the data, and using the data to create visual representations.
- Teachers can make connections to climate change by explaining some of the impacts of climate change, such as an increase in the frequency and severity of storms and sea level rise.
This lesson introduces students to using oyster reefs to prevent coastal erosion. Peer-reviewed sources are listed, and a number of explanatory videos are linked. Primary data from NOAA serves as background. The only issue is just a few broken links to erosion photographs. This resource is grounded in sound science and recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
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