Oil Spills & Wildlife

We depend heavily on oil for energy, manufacturing, and transportation. When this natural resource pollutes our oceans, seashores, or wetlands, it can have a devastating effect on the environment. These resources will help you teach students about oil as a natural resource and why oil spills—such as the one that occurred in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico—can be earth-altering accidents that kill animals, destroy habitats, and damage ecosystems.

Human Impact on the Environment Penguin Sweaters: Saving Birds from Oil Spills Learn how to hand-knit sweaters like the ones that helped save Fairy Penguins from the potentially devastating effects of a January 2000 oil spill near Phillip Island, Australia. Easy on the Oil This activity focuses on how man affects animal habitats, including how oil damages the environment. Human Disasters: A Timeline of Earth-Altering Accidents Students must research infamous earth-altering disasters then fill in the timeline provided in order to better understand how human mistakes can cause accidents that are devastating to the environment. They will complete a longer research project on one of the events. Additionally, you can discuss why the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should be added to this list. Science and Social Studies: Ecosystems - The Human Factor Distribute a reading selection and critical thinking questions about the human impact on ecosystems. How Many People Does It Take to Ruin an Ecosystem? Students will role-play elements of a food web to illustrate the connections in ecosystems. Then they will respond to real-life scenarios that impact ecosystems. Ocean Pollution Ocean Pollution Fighters Try a printable science activity that focuses on ocean pollution. Ocean Pollution Try a printable science activity that focuses on pollution facts and the ocean. What's the Solution to Ocean Pollution? Try a printable science activity that focuses on ocean pollution. Pollution Control Try a printable science activity that focuses on noise, air, and water pollution. What Are Ocean Currents? Use this worksheet to start a discussion about how ocean currents can affect the spread of pollutants from an oil spill. Oil & Water Experiments Explore Activity: Explore Oil and Water Students draw a picture that demonstrates what happened when they attempted to mix oil and water. Science Skill: Experimenting with Oil and Water Students test their hypothesis about the thickness of a liquid and the time it would take for a marble to fall through it. Speedy Mediums Students determine the speed of waves in two different mediums: water and vegetable oil. Tests their understanding of concepts related to waves. Scoring rubric and background notes included. Investigate Activity: Investigating Solutions Students investigate how food coloring reacts with oil and water. Materials list, safety tips, rubric, worksheets, and answer key are provided. Science Skill: Communicating Data (Gr. 3) Students record their observations of water and oil in a chart. Science Skill: Experimenting Students practice experimenting by circling their prediction of what will happen when sugar is poured into water, and what will happen when oil is poured into water. Investigate Activity: Cleaning Polluted Water Students make a water filter, evaluate how well the filter works, and make inferences about which types of pollution cannot be filtered. Materials list, advance preparation instructions, lab hints and tips, rubric, worksheets, and answer key are provided. Oil: A Natural Resource Oil for Energy Interesting facts and fun activities related to oil, America's energy resource. Oil Refining Integrate technology into your study of Earth science. To complete this printable, students will use reference materials to research oil refining and the process of fractional distillation. The World's Oil Supply This printable warm-up includes a reading passage and comprehension questions about the world's oil supply. Natural Resources Using this graphic organizer, students discuss natural resources such as air, forests, oil, soil, and water. This printable is customizable. Tailor the PDF to your teaching needs by typing in the highlighted fields before printing.

References Oil Spills & Disasters This list includes major oil spills around the world since 1967. Find information about the circumstances surrounding the spill, the amount of oil spilled, and the resulting environmental damage. Ten Largest Oil Spills in the U.S. This table includes the date, cause, source, location, and volume of the ten largest oil spills in the U.S., including the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill. Earth-Altering Accidents Discuss the cause and environmental impact of these earth-altering accidents with your students. Highlighted events include major oil spills, nuclear disasters, explosions, and chemical pollution. The Global Environment Outlook: An Overview A list of continents and the major environmental issues in those areas. Animals & Ecology Extinct, Endangered, and Threatened Animals Activity Using reference materials, students will research the habitats of extinct, endangered, and threatened animals listed in this printable. Then, they will write a report about efforts to save one of the animals from extinction. Why Are Wetlands Important to the Environment? Integrate environmental science in your study of wetlands with the questions in this printable. Students will use reference materials to research pond and marsh ecology, animal habitats, ecosystems, erosion, and the importance of wetlands. Kingfisher Young Knowledge: Oceans and Seas Teacher's Guide Utilize the discussion questions and activities in this printable teacher's guide before, during, and after reading Oceans and Seas with your elementary-school students. Extend and enhance what they learn about marine life and ecology, with a letter writing activity, a science/art project, and a word scramble activity sheet. Wetlands - Reading Comprehension Improve your students' reading comprehension skills with a passage on wetlands and accompanying questions in this printable daily warm-up. Science, Technology, and Society: Wetlands Watch Distribute a reading selection and an assignment on the conservation of wetlands in the United States. Explore Activity: Exploring a Water Ecosystem Students make and observe a water ecosystem. Materials list, advance preparation instructions, lab safety tips, rubric, worksheets, and answer key are provided. What Is Balance in an Ecosystem? Enrich your study of the ecosystem with this science printable. Students will complete statements about imbalances in the environment, and will use reference materials to identify which animals listed in the table are endangered species. Lesson Plans Why Care About Amphibian Population Decline and Malformations? In this lesson, students learn why preservation of wildlife is important. Endangered Animals Hunt Students will gain an understanding of the existence of endangered animals and why many people feel it is important to save them. Mystery of the Malformed Frogs Lesson Plan In this lesson students learn how volunteers, including themselves, can aid in conservation. Related Resources Popular Energy, Power & Electricity Resources Oceans – Teacher Resources Wildlife Teacher Resources Popular Aquatic Animal Resources