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A Multitude of Media
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The Anatomy of an Oil Spill: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Interactive is an excellent supplementary resource to use alongside the TrueFlix eBook and resources. This click-through map follows a timeline of significant stages in the progression of the BP oil spill. Using this resource alongside the TrueFlix eBook will give your students additional support and a visually different perspective on how the events progressed. Most of the photographs and illustrations in the eBook are from above the water, often from a bird's eye view, showing only a part of the disaster, whereas the interactive map provides a view from beneath the water that allows readers to see the entire area affected at once. It's the kind of tool that may raise even more questions about the event, providing an excellent opportunity to work between both the eBook and the interactive map. Students can access additional resources under Explore the Web on TrueFlix in order to understand more about the habitats along the Gulf of Mexico, more details about clean-up efforts from the NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration Center, crude oil, and more. It's an abundance of resources perfect for anticipating the different directions curiosity may lead your students. |
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Project Idea
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The nature and scale of this disaster are challenging to comprehend because most of us have not encountered situations where we've had to deal with oil containment or clean up. The Oil Spill STEM Challenge from STEM Activities for Kids is an easy-to-do activity that will leave a lasting impression with your students. Incorporating some very basic materials, in this activity students are challenged to work in teams in order to clean up oil from feathers and the water using the materials provided to them. What will become apparent to your students almost immediately is that while certain materials are effective, the work is slow-going and there is no easy way to address the problem quickly and succinctly. It's an experience that will stick with them and one that might even spur students to take on some local conservation efforts. |
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e-news Archive
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Get more tips and tools from our past newsletters.
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Matthew's Tip of the Month
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Ignite learning new things during Library Lover's Month with a few celebrations that you might want to explore with your students.
February is African American History Month. Explore the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks in our Biographies category.
February 5th is National Weatherman's Day, commemorating the birth of John Jeffries, one of America's first weathermen, and honoring weathermen and women who work hard to accurately predict the often fickle weather. Explore Extreme Nature as it occurs throughout the globe and think of those individuals who devote their lives to predicting weather and helping to alert others to safety.
February 11th is National Inventors Day, honoring Thomas Edison and all inventors. Take time to dive deep into Extreme Science and see what inventors and scientists are creating new for us to understand our world.
February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Even though we typically celebrate Lincoln's birth on Presidents Day (February 20th), why not devote some time to learning more about Honest Abe, his efforts in the Civil War, and his impact on our nation by exploring the Civil War category.
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- Matthew Winner -
Library Media Specialist & TrueFlix Ambassador
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UPCOMING WEBINAR DATES
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Learn more about getting the most out of TrueFlix by attending one of our monthly online training sessions.
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Thursday, March 9, 2017
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm EST |
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Tuesday, May 9, 2017
12:00 to 1:00 pm EST |
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We'd Love to Hear From You!
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Have a suggestion for what unit we should cover next? Or have an idea on how we can make this newsletter even better? Whatever it is, we're looking forward to hearing from you.
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Many schools devote time in February toward state-mandated standardized tests. While opinions differ on the value of these tests toward determining the academic success and ability of a child, we can also look at this period of time as an opportunity to focus our students on reading complex texts, asking big questions, and using resources to locate answers. And while standardized tests don't always provide the most engaging or interesting reading materials, we can do so by investigating events that have had a profound effect on how our nation manages and consumes resources. One such case is in the results of disasters occurring both on land and offshore. The TrueFlix unit on 