1. Learning Expectations.
1.1. 1. Investigate the effects of an oil spill on animals.
1.1.1. This can be done through a class discussion, or group discussion.
1.2. 2. Consider what a community can do to prevent further oil spills.
1.2.1. This learning exception can be assessed through the letters that the children are writing to animal rescuers.
1.3. 3. Indicate an understanding of oil spills and the relationships among the animals that live in them.
1.3.1. This can be assessed through their journal entry that is accompinied by a drawing. This allows children to express their learning through both words and pictures.
1.4. 4. Demonstrate that the student can test out the oil spill clean up tools.
1.4.1. Child can pick 3 tools that they think will clean up the oil from the water the best. Demonstrating that the child can complete this activity will assess their learning.
2. Introduction (Hook/Bridge)
2.1. Engage the class: Read a book called 'Prince William'.
2.1.1. Children are able to ask questions while also predicting what will happen.
2.2. Using reading strategies, questioning and inferring throughout the book with the children sharing their connections.
2.2.1. This combines language arts and science together.
2.3. Read the book called Oil Spill to the class allowing the students to grasp a better understanding of oil spills and why they occur. This book also connect the oil spills to animals.
2.3.1. Students already have the background knowledge from the previous book. This book can extend their knowledge.
3. Development
3.1. What does the teacher do?
3.1.1. Provides the students with background information regarding oil spills.
3.1.2. Provides the students with the materials needed to stimulate their own oil spill (Ex: tins, coffee filters, water, oil, nylon, spoons)
3.1.3. The teacher instructs/guides the children on what to do to their oil spill (Ex: blow on the spill to create wind, ask what happens, and instructs when to use each tool.
3.2. What do the students do?
3.2.1. Create their own simulated oil spill.
3.2.2. Students pick 3 tools that they think would be able to clean up majority of the oil.
3.2.3. Students test out their hypothesis in groups with other class mates. They each test out 3 tools and see how much oil each tool removed .
3.3. Key questions asked by the teacher.
3.3.1. What did you observe from the oil spill?
3.3.2. Were their materials that you thought would not absorb oil, but then did?
3.3.3. What tool did you find worked the best to remove the oil from the water?
3.3.4. What did you think was going to happen?
3.3.5. What were you most surprised about throughout the entire experiment?
3.3.6. What could you do differently next time?
4. Closure
4.1. Allowing the children to become involved and learn on their own through doing and experiencing.
4.1.1. This allows the information to stick with them
4.2. Each group gets to share their experience with the class regarding their experiment. (Ex: Which tool worked the best VS whichtool worked the least).
4.3. The children can express their learning and also are able to learn about their class mates oil spill experience.
4.3.1. What happened in one group might have not occurred in another group.
5. What is it all about?
5.1. This lesson is about natural resources, and how they can be affected by an oil spill.
5.2. This lesson also leads to how animals are affected by oil spills.
5.3. This lesson is about how us as a community can help prevent oil spills as well as how to clean them up.
6. Purpose of the lesson
6.1. Why this lesson is being taught?
6.1.1. This lesson is being taught to allow students to grasp a better understanding of pollution and how oil spills can affect animals.
6.1.2. This lesson allows students to learn about animal rescuers and their job in an oil spill.
6.1.3. This lesson gives students an opportunity to learn though a hands on approach to learning.
6.1.4. Students should understand that science is a combination of knowledge, while being a process. Most of all, science is enjoyable. (http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/article/0_0_0/whatisscience_01).
6.1.5. Science goes beyond a textbook, and this lesson shows that you can learn science through experiments and by doing (http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/article/0_0_0/whatisscience_01).
6.2. Where and how it fits into the larger curriculum?
6.2.1. This lesson fits into the larger curriculum of communities and habitats (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf). When there is an oil spill it disrupts an animals home, and the animals safety.
6.2.2. Understanding Lifesystems, Habitats and Communities
6.2.2.1. In grade 4 an overall expectation is the students understanding of human activities on habitats and communities (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf).
6.2.2.2. The students will have an understanding of habitats and communities and the relationships among the animals that live in them (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf).
6.2.2.3. The children must display an interdependence of animals within specific habitats and communities (Page Not Found
6.3. Why students should want to learn about it?
6.3.1. Students should want to learn about oil spills and how it effects animals because it is useful information (http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/article/0_0_0/whatisscience_01).
6.3.2. Science is ongoing and this lesson should spark the interest in children. This then allows them to want to learn more about oil spills, and other issues that it causes (http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/article/0_0_0/whatisscience_01).
7. Assessment
7.1. Reread the two books that the lesson started with.
7.1.1. What animal rescuers do when there is an oil spill.
7.1.2. The students will think of themselves as an animal rescuer. They will write a short story with a picture to go with it about their experience of rescuing an animal.
7.2. The students will write a letter to an animal rescue worker
7.2.1. A rubric will be included.
7.2.2. The student will write about their concerns regarding oil spills.
7.2.3. The students will address what they know happens to animals when there is an oil spill.
7.2.4. The students will answer the question: What can we do to help clean up oil spills?
7.2.5. The letter will be mailed out after the teacher evaluates them.
8. References
8.1. What is science?
8.2. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf
8.2.1. (2007) Ontario Curriculum, Science and Technology Grades 1 - 8.
8.3. Simulating an Oil Spill to Understand Environmental Impact
8.3.1. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from Simulating an Oil Spill to Understand Environmental Impact