Mathematics

This activity, developed by Smithsonian Education and tied to National Science Content Standards and National Mathematics Standards, helps introduce environmental issues using fun and challenging real-world math problems. Students do the work of a team of paleontologists studying a time of rapid global warming 55 million years ago.

In this Project Wild activity from the Council for Environmental Education, students identify ways that oil spills can adversely affect birds and explore the negative impacts pollutants can have on wildlife, people and the environment. The lesson is appropriate for grades 5-8 and aligns with national science and mathematics standards.

This set of activities from the Gulf of Maine Aquarium helps students conceptualize the effects of an oil spill on local wildlife, the enormity of the amount of oil used every day and the size of an oil tanker. The activities are most appropriate for middle school students and can be adapted to meet educational standards in science, math and social studies.

Goo-Be-Gone is a science fair project idea from Science Buddies that tests the absorptivity of different materials to determine which are the best for cleaning up oil spills. The project is most appropriate for middle and high school students and can be adapted to meet educational standards in science and math.

Written in 1990 after the Exxon Valdez oil spill and updated in 2007, this curriculum provides materials for grades K-3, 4-6 and 7-12, as well as a list of several articles, books and other educational resources. The materials were developed by the Prince William Sound Science Center, the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council and the Prince William Sound Community College.