Once there was a lagoon surrounded by a beautiful coral reef. The lagoon was home to many creatures like plankton, polyps, crustaceans and more.

One day, the lagoon was facing a big problem, the coral reef was bleaching! Bleaching is when the coral turns white due to stress from warm water and it's not good for the reef or the creatures living in it.

The polyps, who were the builders of the reef, started searching for a solution. They found a crevice in the reef that lead to an atoll, a circular coral island. Atolls are made up of a barrier reef surrounding a lagoon.

The polyps saw that the fringing reef around the atoll was healthy and colorful. They learned that the atoll was protected from the warm water by the reef and decided to build a barrier reef around their lagoon to protect it too.

With hard work and determination, the polyps built a strong barrier reef which saved the lagoon and all its creatures from further bleaching. From then on, the lagoon was a happy and vibrant place, filled with colorful corals, playful plankton, and happy crustaceans. The end.

Reflections

1. What was the problem in the lagoon?
2. What is bleaching and how does it affect the coral reef?
3. What did the polyps do to solve the problem?
4. What did the polyps learn from the atoll?
5. How did the barrier reef help protect the lagoon?