Oil and Oceans Don't Mix (3 day lesson)

I ask students to share any knowledge they have about oil spills. Some will know of the most recent Gulf Coast Spill in 2010. A few may reference the Dawn dish soap commercial, in which the soap is used to clean up birds after a spill. Others will have no background knowledge to draw upon. To help provide some background information, I have the students watch What Caused Exxon Valdez Spill, from the Travel Channel:

Now that the students know what an oil spill looks like, I want them to be able to understand the scale and extent of the damage it can cause. In order to do this, I feel they must first understand how large these oil tankers really are. For this part, we need to go outside.

Using a tape measure, I have the students mark off 100-foot piece of string or rope and stretch it across the playground. I have the students stand along the rope, looking at its length from end to end. I explain that using a 100-foot length like this, it would be necessary to step and repeat 10 times to represent the length of the Exxon Valdez- and it's only a medium sized tanker. Some can measure up to 1,500 feet long (15 lengths of string)!

Next, I explain that students will get the opportunity to participate in a few simulations to learn more about the consequences of oil spills. Place students in groups of 3-4, and distribute the Oil Spill Stations handouts. Each group rotates through the three simulations, spending approximately 15 minutes at each station. This provides ample time for them to investigate, discuss, and write their observations/reflections.

Before we begin, I assign students a specific role to fulfill throughout the activity:

• Materials manager: secures the proper quantities of equipment and materials necessary for each investigation and returns them at the end of the activity
• Clean-up manager: makes sure each participant in the group is doing their part to clean up at the end of the activity and ensures that the area is left as it was when they arrives;takes responsibility for additional clean-up, such as wiping down tables, drying equipment, etc.
• Timekeeper: makes sure the group completes the activity in the time allotted; provides partners with a 2 minute reminder before the activity is over
• Director: reads directions to all partners and makes sure they are followed accordingly; provides gentle reminder to keep all partners on task; speaks with the teacher if reminders are not successful

I have found that these roles provide every student with the opportunity to be fully engaged and accountable for the learning task. In addition, this ensures that the lab runs smoothly and the area is left clean and ready for the next group. It also fosters a sense of responsibility for the classroom, the activity, and meeting the learning objectives.

*I have provided a teacher copy of the activity, which includes a general answer key, as well as a list of materials necessary for implementation (indicated in yellow). The student copy does not contain these additional notes.

In order for students to learn more about the effects of oil spills on organisms in or near the ocean environment, I assign a reading passage from a different website to each table group:

1. History's Worst Oil Spills
2. Effects on Wildlife
3. Exxon Valdez Spill, 25 Years Later
4. Gulf Coast Kids Devastated by Oil Spill
5. Gulf Oil Spill "Not Over"
6. Effects of Oil Spill on Economy and Human Health
7. Oil Spill's Effects has Seafood Industry Nervous
8. 3 Surprising Sources of Oil Pollution in the Ocean

The students jigsaw read the articles, discussing the key information from their article with table mates before moving into new groups to share out. As they read, students reflect on the text by completing the Reading Reflection chart. After reading and filling in the chart, they discuss in their table groups, sharing what they wrote on the chart and adding any information their partners shared that they feel is important. Then, they partner up with three other students who read different articles and each summarizes what they read to inform each other about the most important and/or impactful information presented. They do this twice, which covers every article. If you change the number of articles, or have different number of student, you'll have to adjust the numbers.

*Because I like students to have the opportunity to highlight and take notes in the margins, I tend to use Print Friendly to print the articles in PDF form without all of the ads and spam that tend to accompany them. However, reading them online is always an option.