Talking With Kids About the Oil Spill: Tips and Ideas

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is on the minds of millions -- many of whom feel fear, trauma, anger, frustration, and a whole swirling gyre of conflicting feelings. We adults are having enough trouble coping with this tragedy -- what about kids? Treehugger tipped me to the National Wildlife Federation's page for kids, answering questions about the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill. NWF also has a guide for parents & teachers about how to talk to children of different ages about the spill. The tips offer suggestions such as: be age appropriate, answer questions, let kids guide the conversation, and empower them with positive action and attitude. (One of the best suggestions was a reminder that young children are young, and we should be helping them engage with the natural world, rather than burdening them with problems we adults have caused.)

If you want to explore the oil spill more deeply with your students, consider some of these resources:

NOAA has a mini-lesson about the Valdez oil spill that can help give older students background in the effects of such a disaster on people, animals and the earth, as well as an FAQs section about oil and chemical spills (students can even find out about oil spills that have happened in their area).

The New York Times has posted a lesson for examining the current spill and designing and executing experiments to explore the impacts of the spill.

Breaking News English offers a series of activities connected to the oil spill for ESL students (the activities that promote discussion and critical thinking are the strongest).

The Smithsonian Institution has a few suggested resources and ideas for exploring the spill.

And, of course, there are numerous opportunities to spark student critical thinking, discussion and community action with this topic.

What resources and ideas have you come across for engaging young people about the BP oil spill?

~ Marsha

Image courtesy of marinephotobank via Creative Commons.

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