Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

Natural Gas and Pennsylvania’s Future

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Beginning with a general discussion about natural gas, methane, and hydrocarbons, a few videos and diagrams are projected to support the lecture. Individuals participate in a brief activity by drinking juice through a straw, and then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Gas Lesson-How Natural Gas Forms

For Teachers K - 9th
Students examine background natural gas and how it is formed and what it is made of. Titles within the series include How Natural Gas Forms, What Happens to Natural Gas when it is burned, and How Natural Gas can be used. Provides very...
Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

Marcellus Shale: Who Pays?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After viewing short clips of unfortunate events, your class will consider two sides of a homeowner's court case, and then learn about the Marcellus shale deposit beneath the state of Pennsylvania and the hydraulic fracturing process. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pump It Up

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners use water in a flask to simulate how oil is pumped or forced out of the Earth by pressure from natural gas or human machinery. In this oil lesson plan, students complete a lab packet and work in groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling an Oil Reserve

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students conduct an experiment.  In this oil and natural gas instructional activity, students learn how geoscientists identify and explore reserves of petroleum.  Students make a model of an oil reserve, record how much it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the Oil Out

For Teachers K - 6th
Students discover ways of obtaining oil by participating in an experiment.  In this natural resource lesson, students identify diagrams of oil derricks and pumps in order to visualize how oil is retrieved from the earth....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America's Energy Future

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers write a proposal to save energy resources. For this energy lesson, students research nuclear energy, coal power, petroleum, natural gas, hydroelectric power, and renewable energy. High schoolers then debate energy issues...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Oil and Gas Reservoirs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate energy by researching how oil reservoirs work. In this fossil fuels lesson, students conduct an experiment using a half full bottle of water, corn oil and oxygen, recording their data as the elements are mixed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Search

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers participate in a mock oil search game and attempt to find "oil" in a model oil field. They drill initially based on random guessing, but each time they drill they use prior knowledge to determine where to drill next. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring for Petroleum - Modeling an Oil Reserve

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students experiment with locating oil reserves. For this conservation lesson, students use a cardboard box to create sand, rocks, and an oil reserve (water balloon). They use a probe to dig around in the box to find the oil reserve and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CSI on the Deep Reef

For Teachers 8th - 10th
After some instruction, small groups prepare a written report on chemotrophic organisms. Though not clearly mentioned, this resource would work best if groups have the Internet available to research the vocabulary and different organisms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Life Stinks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Adventure Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students complete a scavenger hunt. In this energy lesson, students use various Internet websites to explore forms of energy, non-renewable sources, renewable sources, electricity, uses of energy and energy efficiency.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CSI on the Deep Reef

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read about, discuss, and research chemotrophic organisms. In this chemosynthesis lesson, students discuss the differences between photosynthesis and chemosynthesis. They learn that chemosynthesis includes a variety of chemical...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Fluid Power Basics

For Teachers 7th - 9th
What can bulldozers and screen doors have in common? Use this lesson plan on fluid power to find out. It begins with some simple teacher demonstrations, includes a couple of videos, and culminates with an inquiry-based activity to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reindeer Herders

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the life of of nomadic herders in Siberia. They read and discuss an article and maps from National Geographic, identify threats to this way of life, and write a letter to the Russian government identifying ways to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Life Stinks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study how organisms that live in cold seep communities get energy from methane.  In this organism lesson students write a brief report and identify oxidation reduction reactions and explain if these are dependent of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do We Need Petroleum?

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students learn the many ways petroleum is used in our industrial society, and the advantages and disadvantages of its use. They explore what it would be like to live in a world without petroleum.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Miners

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students complete various activities related to mining and mining safety. They write an energy sentence, complete a word puzzle, cut and glue safety equipment on a mining character, solve a math code word puzzle, and complete a maze...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Question of the Day: Anwr Drilling Policy

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will examine two policy positions regarding oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The students also determine their viewpoint on the issue and quantitatively analyze the cases for oil drilling in the ANWR...