TeachersFirst's Oil Spill Resources
This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students learn about oil spills and the short and long term impact on the environment caused by these environmental disasters. As students read and see images of animals, be aware that younger students may have more questions than they can explain. Use these resources together with your class to help them find ways they can contribute to a greater good after such a devastating event spreads across the news. View our full listing of resources tagged oil and oil spills.
Extend the opportunity to teach about persuasive writing (letters to legislators or the editor), careers in environmental science, and more.
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Do Science - Lawrence Hall of Science
Grades
2 to 8
tag(s): animals (286), bridges (11), measurement (124), money (114), oceans (149), oil spill (13), olympics (41), plants (148), STEM (276)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the many hands-on activities available on this site to use as part of science and STEM lessons. After participating in the activities, ask students to choose their favorite using Dotstorming, reviewed here, to vote and add comments discussing their choice. During activities, have students videotape their work. Ask them to include their video as part of an ongoing reflection of the lessons learned. Use a simple webpage creator like WebNode, reviewed here, to share student response and reflection including images and videos.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Layers of Life - Gulf Life Interactive - National Geographic
Grades
6 to 9tag(s): biomes (112), diversity (37), environment (242), oil (23), oil spill (13), water (101)
In the Classroom
To teach about the zones of the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, have students form four groups and create a summary of the features and creatures of that zone. This will reduce the time necessary to share all of the information in class. Turn the activity into a jigsaw by having the student teams number themselves and form new groups of numbers so that all information is shared to all students. While students are sharing information, post questions about the oil spill impact on the ecosystem. Examples would be "Why would oil being introduced into this unique zone of the ecosystem cause a problem for organisms that live in this area?" or "How could the oil from the spill cause a chain reaction for biotic and abiotic components of the environment?" Encourage students to discuss within their groups the questions and then have discussion with the whole class where the groups share ideas. Enhance learning by having students create a class wiki using TWiki, reviewed here, to discuss oil spills and clean-up options, to discuss the questions and answers. Learn more about wikis at the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Alaska Oil Spill Lesson Bank - PWSRCAC
Grades
K to 12tag(s): disasters (37), environment (242), oil (23), oil spill (13)
In the Classroom
Use the whole curriculum in environmental science classes or pick and choose pieces that you want to incorporate into your curriculum. Have students research and understand about oil spills in general using this tool, and then have students enhance their learning by comparing and contrasting the Exxon spill to the BP spill in 2010. Have students create Venn Diagrams using a tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare these two spills or other oil spills.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Lesson Plan: Oil Spill Solutions - TryEngineering.org
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): environment (242), oil (23), oil spill (13)
In the Classroom
Introduce the concept by talking about current events such as the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Provide students with the student worksheets. Have the students work through the laboratory, and debrief by having students discuss their answers to questions. Have students relate their solutions to attempts to clean up real life oil spills. Enhance learning by having students create a class wiki using TWiki, reviewed here, to discuss oil spills and clean-up options. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst's Wiki Walk-Through.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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How Deep Were the Impacts of the BP Oil Disaster - Natural Resources Defense Council
Grades
7 to 12In the Classroom
Have students view the image to obtain basic information. Share the site on your projector or interactive whiteboard. In groups of four, have pairs read and discuss the poster together. Next have the pairs in the group share information learned from the site with the other pair in their group and discuss important points learned. Conduct additional research into effects of oil and the food chain(s) that are being affected. Determine the different types of populations of people affected as well by the disaster and write editorial letters of their viewpoint. Create a conventional or multimedia project that showcases students being these animals or people. Create a Voki, reviewed here, to share your information. Student groups can research additional information about specific organisms or problems to report back to the class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Tracking the Oil Spill in the Gulf - NY Times
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Use this site as a springboard for discussions about the environmental impact of oil spills and, in a broader sense, of human activity in general. Use the map on the interactive whiteboard or projector to show students the physical location of the spill, as well as where the spill has had an immediate impact.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Oil Spill Lesson Plans and Resources - NOAA
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities on this site! Be sure to save this site as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on. Students can select different aspects of oil spill cleanup and mitigation and play the role of experts in a mock blog post playing their role. Use Blogger, reviewed here or Straw.Page, reviewed here for your students blogging tool. Have students continue their role play by commenting on each other's posts.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Prince William Sound: Detecting Changes 25 Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill - NOAA
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): disasters (37), environment (242), oil (23), oil spill (13)
In the Classroom
Use this site as a springboard for discussions about the environmental impact of oil spills and, in a broader sense, of human activity in general. Share some of the text portions on a projectir or divide up the site among different student groups. Have student groups explore various aspects of oil spills and report to the class, perhaps sharing visuals from this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students create a multimedia presentation using PowerPoint Online, reviewed here. This tool allows for to narrating and adding text to a picture. Challenge students to find a photo of the oil spill, and then narrate the photo as if it were a news report. To find Creative Commons images for student projects (with credit, of course), try Vecteezy, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Wetlands & Shorelines - Missouri Botanical Garden
Grades
4 to 6tag(s): biomes (112), oil (23), oil spill (13), wetlands (7)
In the Classroom
Use the "shorelines" section of this site to understand the importance of ecosystems in coastal areas such the the Gulf of Mexico. This would be great background for a lesson on oil spills, specifically Exxon-Valdez or the BP spill of 2010. Use this site as a learning center or station, among other stations with more information about the specific spills being studied.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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