LOUROS

Oil Spill!
Grade Level
6th grade
Objective
Sudents will explore the effects of oil spills on plants, animals and the environment and
invesitagte clean up methods through a simulated oil spill.
Time Needed
Three class periods
NGSS Standard
MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring

and minimizing a human impact on the environment.* [Clarification Statement:

Examples of the design process include examining human environmental
impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and
evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts
can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and
aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban
development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of
the air, water, or land).]
Materials
Vegetable oil
Newspaper
Aluminum pie pans
Water
3 cups for removing measured oil
Metric measuring cups
Bags filled with these supplies (1 per team)
Spoon
Fork
50 cm yarn
10 cm strip nylon stocking
Cotton balls
Disposable pipette
Coffee filter
5 cm wide strip of paper towel

Teacher Does
ENGAGE
Show students Prince
William book:

Student Does
Its about a girl that looks sad about
something that happened.

Concept

What do you think this

book is about?

Its about a girl and a seal.

It looks like its about an otter.
I think shes going to save the animal
because shes holing him like that.

What or who do you think

Prince William is?

Maybe she names him William.

The seal.
She could be looking for a prince.
It could be a place.
Its the name of the place, Ive heard
about it on the news before.
I saw it on a show about Alaska I think.

Teacher reads text aloud,

pausing to infer word
meaning from the text.

Students will listen but not respond

to read aloud questions the teacher
is asking herself.

What would this beach

look and smell like?

Sour, like the air would smell bad.

Like oil. I wonder if it smells lke the
gas station.
It would probably be dark, and scary
for animals that werent used to seeing
it like that.

Read authors note about

school children helping
with seal recovery efforts
to engage students.
Tell students what it is you
remember about the Exxon
oil spill, and making
connections to Gulf Oil
Spill of 2010. Students
would have been about 8.
Activate students prior
knowledge about the topic
by asking, What do you
remember hearing or
seeing about oil spills?
Ask students to Turn and
Talk with a partner.
Students share an idea

I remember seeing it on the news that

it was the oil peoples fault.
Ive seen pictures where the oil made
the animals turn black.
I saw them clean birds with soap and
then they let them go on the
commercial.
It hurt the land.

LOUROS 3
with a partner to practice
using academic English
and allow for ample
opportunities to practice
listening and speaking in
English.

People got mad when they heard there

was another oil spill.

Humans have an
impact the
negitivley when oil
spills occur.
EXPLORE
Before reading, pre-teach
vocabulary in a minilesson. Use a power point
presentation to provide
students with definitions
including multiple
pictures.

Read Oil Spill! aloud.

In your science journal I

want you to write down the
methods used to clean oil
spills and quickly describe
them.

Which method do you

think works best? Why?
Turn and talk to your
partner.
Are there disadvantages,
or problems with some of
these methods?

Booms stop the oil from

spreading
Skimmers take the oil off the
surface
Pads soak up the oil, setting the
oil on fire burns it.
Adding some bacteria can eat
away at the oil.
Spreading chemicals to
dissolve the oil.

Answers will vary. Students will use

evidence from the text to cite
evidence for their thinking:

The oil was mostly just on the

top so I think they should suck it
off, like with the skimmers.
Yeah, the big vacuums sound
like they would just take off the
oil and not hurt anything.
The pads would need to be
thrown away so you would just
be moving the oil.
I think setting it on fire is a bad

idea because then its burning

more oil.
I agree, burning the oil is
harmful to our atmosphere.
Using chemicals add poison to
the water too, so I think thats
just more pollution.

EXPLAIN
On Monday we learned
about how oil spills might
effect the environment,
and why its important to
clean up pollution like oil
spills. Today you are going
to be members of an oil
spill response team. Oil
just spilled and you need
to find a way to clean it up
most effectively. Well plan
an experiment to test three
methods for cleaning up an
oil spill in three different
oceans. Since we cant
use oceans in the
classroom, these pie pans
will serve as our oceans.
Display on the Elmo the
teachers science journal,
with the title of the lesson
Oil Spill listed. Write the
objective and focus
question: what is the best
way to clean up an oil
spill?

Students begin recording the lesson

title, objective and focus question in
their science journal.

Model for students how to

draw three charts to record
student data. Explain that
each chart will record the
results from a different

Students draw three charts, each

labeled 1, 2, 3. Each table will
contain two columns with the titles
Method and Result.

Oil spills have

effects on plants,
animals, and the
environment.

LOUROS 5
method. Use a different pie
pan, or ocean, to
experiment with each of
three different methods.
Students will work with
their table groups.
Rearrange groups if
necessary to provide ELLs
with a native speaking
peer and to ensure that
students in each group are
working at mixed ability
levels.
On the Elmo display the
following instructions for
students:
1. Cover your work area
with newspaper.
2. Get three aluminum
pie pans.
3. Fill the pan with 250
ml of water. These
are your oceans.
4. Add 75 ml of the oil
to each pan. Have
one person from
your group gently
blow across the top
of the pan to
simulate wind and
waves. Record your
observations in your
science journal.
One student collects materials for
the group. Group assembles
Please collect your
materials, following instructions
materials and follow the
listed on the Elmo.
instructions for setting up
todays experiment. When
youve finished call me
over real quick and Ill give

you the rest of your

materials. This lesson is
designed so that tasks are
broken up into smaller and
more manageable chunks
to facilitate all types of
learners.

When meeting with each

group, ask: describe what
happened when someone
blows across the water?
Respond to students
explanations by repreashing to clarify and
include content vocabulary
and model correct
grammar.
What do you think this
shows? Why?

Pass out Oil Spill Cleanup

lab sheet (Appendix A) and
post-its. Instruct students
to follow the directions on
their labs sheet, and
record their experiment
procedure on post its to
transfer to their journals.
Ask student to check with
you again before beginning
to experiment.

The oil spreads and there are

bubbles of oil everywhere.
The oil moves on the surface. It
goes everywhere.

The oil moves all over the place.

The pollution probably spreads
really fast when the wind blows
and the ocean moves.
The oil can go really far from
where it spills.

Students select three methods to

try and mark them on their Oil Spill
Cleanup lab sheet. Students will
label the charts in their science
journal accordingly.

Students will predict which method

they think will remove the most oil
from the pan. They will explain their
thinking on their Oil Sill Cleanup
sheet.
Students will continue to plan a
step-by-step procedure on postits.

LOUROS 7

Students will select their materials,

and after make a prediction and
record it on their Oil Spill Cleanup
Checkpoint Lab.
Students will explain their choices
of materials and write out a step-bystep procedure for their experiment.
We labeled three cups for the different
methods.
To ensure student
Were going to put the oil in cups then
participation circulate the
weight them.
room and observe students Well squeeze the oil out of the cotton
as they plan their
balls into a cup.
experiments. Ask students
how they plan to measure
how much oil is removed?
Encurage students who
have planned an
appropriate experiment to
Students conduct three experiments
continue.
testing three different clean up
methods. While collecting data
students will record the results in
their science journals.

Circulate the room, ask

students to draw
conclusions about they
came to based on the data.
Which material was best
for cleaning up the oil
spill? What did you see or
record that proves this?
If you were going to repeat
this experiment, what
would you do differently?

The spoon got the most oil and I

know because we weighted it.
I know the pipette sucked up
the most because I can see this
cup has more than the others.
I know the yarn didnt pick up
any, because we couldnt use it
to get the oil out.
I would use different methods,
because these picked up a lot of
water too. I want to try to just
get oil.
I would try cutting the paper
towels different, and just trying
different kinds of paper towel.

Why?
Would you expect your
results to change, if so
how?

Ask students to begin

cleaning up their
materials.
Once cleaned up, as
students to share their
experiments and data by
bringing their science
journals to the Elmo. Ask
students to agree or
disagree with their
classmates conclusions
and provide feedback or
ask questions. Ask
students to consider the
predications they made
before experimenting, how
did the results compare
with the predications?

Ask students to write a

conclusion for their
experiment in their science
journal. Use the sentence
frame: I thought that
_____________ would work
best and after
experimenting I
think_____________.
ELABORATE

I agree the pipette worked best

because when I measured the
oil it had the most in its cup.
How did you measure the oil?
Why did you pick the coffee
filter?
I disagree that the paper towel
was the best material because
your data shows that you picked
up more oil with the spoon.
I agree the spoon wasnt good
method because it picked up a
lot of water too.
I thought the paper towel would
work best, but got a little bit of
the oil because it was small.
I thought the spoon would work
best, and after I experimenting I
think the coffee filter picked up
more oil.
I thought the pipette would work
best, and after experimenting I
think that my predication was
correct.

There are ways to

minimize the
impact of oil spills
on the
enviornment.

LOUROS 9
Reread pages 10-13 of Oil
Spill!
What types of animals
were harmed by the oil
spill in the book?

How do oil spills harm

birds?

How do oil spills harm

fish, shrimp, and crabs?

How do oil spills harm sea

animals?

Reread page 10 (doctor

and volunteer), page 19
(washing the animals) and
page 20 (Dennys reaction
to Prince William
recovering).
Discussion questions:
Imagine you are cleaning
a real live animal that has
been oiled. What things
would you need to consider
to keep you and the animal
safe?

Ducks and geese, fish, shrimp,

crab, sea otters, sea lion,
harbor seals, killer whales.

The oil got on their feathers so

they cant swim or fly.
They wouldnt move so they
couldnt get any food.

The oil made them sick.

The oil poisoned their bodies
and they died.

The oil makes them sick.

When they swallow the oil they
die because its poisonous.
The oil burns and they get sick
from the smoke.
The oil is sticky and it coats
their bodies.

Theyre probably really scared.

I would need to know how sick
they were.
I would wear gloves so the oil
doesnt posion me too.
Yeah I would wear gloves and a
mask like in the picture,
because if Im sick then nobody
will help the animals.
I would like helping the
animals because humans hurt
them and thats not fair.
I would enjoy seeing them get

What would you enjoy

about being a rescuer?

What parts of the job

would be difficult?

Instruct students to write a

short story describing their
rescue experiences. They
should draw a picture to
illustrate their story and
write a caption for the
drawing.

EVALUATE
Ask students to write a
letter to oil spill animal
rescue organizations
thanking the oil response
team and volunteers.
Students will assessed
using a soring rubric
(Appendix B).

better, and knowing I made a

difference.
It would be interesting to
learn more about the
animals, like how they usually
live.
It would be hard when some of
the animals didnt live. Or if
they were hurt and I couldnt
help them.
It would probably be stressful
because they have to act quick
before the oil spreads more.
Its a lot of work because there
is so much oil and it spreads
very fast.
The rescuers probably have to
go far from their homes to help
the animals. They must work a
lot.

Students will write independently,

citing observations and data from
their experiments and the text
where appropriate.

Students will write letters that

clearly demonstrates understanding
of oil spill activity, lists two ways oil
spills can affect the health and
survival of organisms, effectively
communicates concern about oil
spills and requests information on
how they can help support clean up
efforts.

Rescue and
response efforts
are designed to
minimize the
impact of human
activity on the
enviornnment.

LOUROS 1
1

Appendix A
CHAPTER
13

Name: _____________________________

Oil Spill Cleanup

Part

Checkpoint Lab cont.

Design an Experiment
to Test Cleanup Materials

1 Your job is to find out which material will remove the most oil from
the pan. Choose three materials to test from the list below.
Circle your choices:
Spoon
Fork
Nylon stockings cut into strips
Paper towels cut into strips

Cotton balls
Disposable pipettes
Coffee filters
Yarn

2 Make a prediction about which of the three materials will remove the

most oil from the pan. Explain why you chose that material.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 How will you decide which material removed the most oil? You can

use the 3 plastic cups for measuring removed oil.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 Write a step-by-step procedure for your experiment:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Checkpoint B
176

NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

LOUROS 1
3

Appendix B
Scoring(Rubric(for(Letter( (
4(Point(Response((
The$students$letter$includes$a$statement$thanking$the$
rescuer,$clearly$demonstrates$understanding$of$the$oil$
spill$activity,$lists$two$ways$oil$spills$can$affect$the$
health$and$survival$of$organisms,$effectively$
communicates$his$or$her$concern$about$oil$spills,$and$
requests$information$about$how$kids$can$support$
cleanup$efforts$or$prevent$oil$spills.$$
3(Point(Response(
The$students$letter$demonstrates$a$flaw$in$the$
understanding$of$the$concepts$OR$is$missing$one$or$
two$elements.$$
2(Point(Response(
The$students$letter$demonstrates$a$flaw$in$the$
understanding$of$the$concepts$and$is$missing$one$or$
two$elements$OR$is$missing$three$or$four$elements.$$
1(Point(Response(
The$students$letter$demonstrates$a$flaw$in$the$
understanding$of$the$concepts$and$is$missing$three$or$
four$elements$OR$is$missing$five$elements.$$
0(Point(Response((
The$student$shows$no$understanding$of$the$concepts$
OR$does$not$write$a$letter.$$
$