Educator Guide
A4 Printable Guide

Seagrass Stories

Ages 12–14 60 minutes Groups of 2–3
Driving question
What does it take to bring an underwater meadow back to life?
Learning intention

Explore how seagrass restoration works and use what you discover to help someone else understand it.

Learning outcomes
Learning journey
Experience
Enter the meadow
Investigate
Look behind the game
Reflect
What did you discover?
Create
Bring ideas to life
What you need

Internet-connected display and student devices where possible; access to the Seagrass Stories webpage and game; one Learner Graphic Organiser per learner or group; 6–10 Post-its per group; pens or markers.

Facilitation approach

Learners encounter the subject, investigate it through play, reflect on what they discover and apply their understanding through creation. Facilitation focuses on curiosity, questions, connections and evidence of learning.

Before you begin

The restoration mats support seagrass shoots so they can stay in place, take root and grow. The game represents parts of the restoration process. Encourage learners to explore what changes, what takes time and what evidence could indicate recovery.

Use the Learner Graphic Organiser throughout the session to make thinking visible. Learners can write, sketch, connect ideas and return to earlier thinking as their understanding develops.

Facilitation Guide
Session Timeline

Experience → Investigate → Reflect → Create

1. Experience 15 min
Learner Activity
Watch, observe the meadow, meet Nada and capture initial thinking using See • Think • Wonder.
Key Questions & Prompts
SEE: What do you notice?
THINK: What is happening? What relationships can you see?
WONDER: What questions does this raise? What do you want to understand more about?
Evidence of Learning
Learners notice details and relationships, offer interpretations and generate questions they can investigate.
2. Investigate 15 min
Learner Activity
Play Seagrass Stories through the lens of a scientist and examine change, timescale and recovery.
Key Questions & Prompts
• What changes quickly?
• What might take longer in the ocean?
• What evidence would tell you the meadow is recovering?
Evidence of Learning
Learners distinguish between immediate game responses and ecological change, and identify possible evidence of recovery.
3. Reflect 15 min
Learner Activity
Pause individually, then share and compare thinking with others. Return to earlier notes where useful.
Key Questions & Prompts
• What changed how you think about ocean restoration?
• What are you still wondering?
Evidence of Learning
Learners articulate a shift, connection or new understanding and identify questions that remain.
4. Create 15 min
Learner Activity
In groups of 2–3, use 6–10 Post-its to design an experience that helps someone else understand an idea about ocean restoration.
Key Questions & Prompts
• What choice or action happens?
• What happens because of it?
• How does the habitat respond?
• How do things change over time?
Evidence of Learning
Learners communicate understanding through a causal chain: Choice / Action → Consequence → Habitat Response → Change Over Time.

See • Think • Wonder

Use this routine during Experience to move from observation to inquiry. Give learners time to notice before inviting explanations. Capture different interpretations and questions, then revisit them later.

The 6–10 Post-it Constraint

Gives learners enough elements to explore relationships while keeping the system workable. Ask groups to connect Post-its with arrows: Show how one change leads to the next.

After the Session

Capture where curiosity appeared, which connections learners made, what their creations revealed about understanding, and where the experience could be strengthened.