Case Study # 2

Overview of
the Lesson

We are hoping to show the students of College Mentors for Kids, what an
oil spill is, how challenging cleaning up an oil spill is, and the effects oil
spills have on the environment.

Description
of Learners

Fourth grade students at risk. 10 even distribution of girls and boys and
10 mentors. The students are here for an after school program to
highlight the benefits of college, and education as a whole.
We know the students were very young when the BP Deep Water
Horizon oil spill occurred, they have probably heard of the topic.
The classroom is in the basement of Hicks. The large classroom has
many projectors so they can watch the the Prezi comfortably, and lots of
room for the activity to occur.

Intended
Learning
Goals

The students will learn what an oil spill is and pollution are by listening to
our Prezi on oil spills.
The students will apply what they know by conducting an oil spill model.
They will then analyze the methods used to clean up the oil spill

Lesson
Content

Prezi https://prezi.com/nvmsjo-vmibm/oil-spill-activity-elementary/
Activity
Assessment

Learning
Objectives

Students will be able to accurately demonstrate an oil spill clean up given

tools and a simulated oil spill
Students will be able to collaboratively consider the results of an oil spill

cleanup, and determine how effective or ineffective the methods of

cleanup were given an oil spill simulation
Students will be able to accurately discuss oil spill cleanup approaches
and substances that are used to separate oil from the water

Standards

Fourth Grade Core Science Standard: Describe how the supply of natural
resources is limited and investigate ways that humans
protect and harm the environment. (4.2.4, 4.2.5, 4.2.6)

Required
Materials

Preparation Materials:
4 Large-mouth gallon buckets
Water
4 Tablecloths
Clean up Materials (4 sets of these)
Duct tape or other strong tape
Bendable straws
Dense foam wedge; makeup sponge
Paper towels
Cardboard
Cotton balls
Craft (popsicle) sticks
Dispersant Material
Name-brand dishwashing soap
Oil & Chemicals Materials
Blue food coloring
Tablespoons
Vegetable oil
Student Materials
Data Page 1 & 2
Journal Page
Pencils
Presentation Materials:
White Board
White Board Markers
Computer and projector for Prezi
The College Mentor for Kids Journal

Procedure

Presentation:
Use the Prezi https://prezi.com/t5t0yvo_m6qv/copy-of-oil-spill-activity-elementary/
to guide the students and introduce them to the topic. Have them use the
whiteboards and markers in the room to come up with answers to the questions
along the way!
Preparation:
Put down tablecloths in case of water spill.
Add water to buckets.
Put out a set of cleaning materials next to each bucket.
At the front of the room on a table:
(Students may come get these when needed in the simulation)
Dish soap
Oil
Food Coloring

Tablespoons
Divide Students into 4 groups of 3
Assign Roles: Observer, Data Collector, and Oil Remover
Hand out data pages to Data Collector.
Class Discussion:
Ask students: What do you already know about oil spills?
Go over definitions as a class. Students should copy vocabulary words onto their
journal page:
Ocean
Oil Spill
Absorber
Boom
Skimmer
Dispersant
In Groups
Observe supplies & discuss which supplies might represent each type of
equipment used to clean up oil spills. (Booms, skimmers, absorbers, and
dispersants)
Measure 4 tbsp. vegetable oil & add 4 drops of food coloring. Mix.
Place a 1 inch Popsicle stick in the center (represents a ship)
Spill the oil in the center of the ocean
Class Discussion:
What do you think the oil and food coloring represent?
Oil represents crude oil; food coloring represents chemicals trapped inside of the
oil.
**Note: The food coloring will not mix completely with the oil
Simulate Cleanup Before Dispersant In Groups
Oil Removers: use material (pieces of cotton, cardboard, and paper towels
smaller than one inch) to try to clean up all the oil before it reaches the edges
Observers: Describe what the oil remover is doing & what materials are being
used
Data Collectors: list properties of each material. Categorize each as booms,
skimmers, absorbers, or dispersants (column 1 & 2 of the worksheet)
Together: Discuss & complete column 3&4
Simulate Cleanup After Dispersant In Groups
Add 4 drops of dishwashing soap
Together: Complete column 1, 2, & 3
Class Discussion:
What happened to the oil? Why?
What happened to the chemicals (dye)? Why?
What color is the water? Why?
Retest materials in the water with Dispersant
Predict: What will happen now that dispersants have been added?
Retest Cleanup.
Add observations to column 4
Class Discussion:
Did any method completely remove oil?
What happened to the chemicals (dye)?
Do you think all toxins or chemicals behave the same way? Why or why not?
Compare results for before and after dispersants added.
Share successes & flaws.
Based on observations, how effective have the Gulf oil spill effort (equipment)
been?

Did observations change the way you view the cleanup strategies?
Did any observations change the way you view effects of cleanup strategies may
have on water quality & wildlife?

Assessment
Journal Entry:
Answer 1 question from each group of questions (total of 5 questions answered)
What does the oil represent?
What does the food coloring represent?
What happened to the oil? Why?
What happened to the chemicals? Why?
What color is the water? Why?
What cleanup materials did you use?
What role did it have, and what type of equipment did it represent?
How effective was it at cleaning up the oil?
Based on observations, how effective have the Gulf oil spill effort (equipment)
been?
Did observations change the way you view the cleanup strategies?
Did any observations change the way you view effects of cleanup strategies may
have on water quality & wildlife?
Did any method completely remove oil?
What happened to the chemicals (dye) after dispersant was added?
Do you think all toxins or chemicals behave the same way? Why or why not?

References/
Reference
Materials

Sam H. Ham & Daphne R. Sewing (1988) Barriers to Environmental Education,

The Journal of
Environmental Education, 19:2, 17-24.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00958964.1988.9942751
In this article they explore the previous established barriers that have
prevented part of environmental education with the hope of discovering what is
truly the main barrier of environmental education in the classroom. They knew
that the previous 4 main barriers were misconceptions of what environmental
education is, logistical barriers, educational barriers, and attitudinal barriers. To
find the main barrier, they asked random teachers in 6 different school districts
about the barriers in their classrooms regarding environmental education open
ended and close ended results. When the results of the survey came in, they
discovered that time in the classroom was by far the biggest barrier that prevent
teachers from successfully teaching environmental education. Because students
are not getting the material in school, we thought that an after school program like
college mentors for kids would be a wonderful place to learn about such a topic.
While our lesson is 45 minutes, this is 45 minutes of extra classroom time that
we can teach something valuable they are not getting in school!

Byhee, B. (2010). Advancing STEM Education: A2020Vision.

http://opas.ous.edu/Work2009-2011/InClass/BybeeIntegrated%20STEM%20Plan.pdf
This article is centered around the reformation of STEM education in the
k-12 system. It highlights the fact that most people do not know what STEM stand
for (the article says people often confuse it with things such as stem cell research)
or how people often forget the engineering and technology standards, and focus
on the science and math. One of the suggestions Byhee makes in his suggestion
of reform is linking technology and engineering into science. We did this in our
lesson as while the science lesson of pollution and oil spills is presented, the
students are solving a problem that requires a challenge and critical thinking
(engineering) of what is the best way to clean up an oil spill. Through this
challenge, they are doing something that is age appropriate, gaining knowledge of
a problem, and designing solutions to the problem, all things Byhee highlights that
make a successful STEM lesson.
Brown, Julie. (2013) Simulate an oil cleanup. National Geographic.
This National Geographic activity explains how to simulate an oil spill clean up
for students. We edited the procedure given from this site to create our own
lesson plan. It provided guidelines for the simulation and data collection pages for
students
Northeastern STEM. (2014). Oil Spill Activity (Elementary) [Prezi]. Retrieved from
https://prezi.com/nvmsjo-vmibm/oil-spill-activity-elementary/
This Prezi gives students a starting basis on what pollution is, how oil spills
connect to pollution, and talks about the major BP oil spill. We edited the Prezi to
include more interaction and critical thinking as well as we showed a different
video.The video we showed highlights the effect the oil spill has on an ecosystem
rather than the original.

What
inspired us

We started out by searching Pinterest to brainstorm ideas on STEM related

activities we could teach to elementary school kids. We then came across a
lesson on oil spills and demonstrating a way to clean up the oil. We plan to show
a prezi to give information about our lesson and give background on oil spills and
pollutants. Then we are going to do a hands on demonstration of cleaning up and
absorbing the oil. Then when searching National Geographic we came across an
activity on how to simulate an oil spill cleanup and we used that to help us create
our lesson.

Brown, Julie. (2013) Simulate an oil cleanup. National Geographic.