Reef Cause & Effect

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 5 and 6 to build environmental literacy and analytical thinking through a focused study of the Great Barrier Reef. Learners read an informational passage describing major threats such as rising ocean temperatures, pollution, sediment runoff, and overfishing, then identify clear cause-and-effect relationships for each scenario, strengthening scientific reasoning and evidence-based explanation.

Learning Goals

• Ecosystems & Human Impact (Grades 5-6): Understand how human activities and environmental changes affect coral reef ecosystems.
• Cause & Effect Reasoning: Identify causes and explain resulting effects related to reef health and biodiversity.
• Environmental Geography: Analyze how marine ecosystems connect to human communities and global environmental systems.
• Evidence-Based Thinking: Use details from the passage to support accurate cause-and-effect explanations.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource: Designed to align with upper elementary science, social studies, and ELA standards.
• Real-World Environmental Focus: Uses an authentic case study to promote meaningful learning.
• Structured Analysis Format: Guides students step by step through identifying causes and effects.
• Flexible Use: Ideal for science units, environmental studies, assessments, homework, or small-group discussion.

This printable worksheet helps students deepen their understanding of how coral reefs are affected by both natural changes and human actions. By analyzing cause-and-effect relationships connected to the Great Barrier Reef, learners strengthen critical thinking, environmental awareness, and scientific explanation skills. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning, supporting thoughtful engagement with marine conservation issues.

This worksheet is part of our Oceania Worksheets collection.