| OERB introduces new curriculum for the littlest of learners
This fall, Oklahoma kindergarten through second grade teachers will have a new tool to fuel learning in their classrooms – the OERB’s new Little Bits curriculum. It is the latest in the repertoire of hands-on science and math experiments created through a joint effort of Oklahoma educators, industry professionals and the OERB.
Little Bits will consist of six activities that will familiarize children with oil and natural gas terms. Little Bits will allow these students to be more prepared for the hands-on lessons and experiments they will encounter in the Fossils to Fuel curriculum when they reach third grade.
In one of the activities, students divide into groups - or oil companies - and search the classroom for hidden oil drops - plastic drop-shaped markers. This activity teaches children the process of searching for oil and helps explain the difference between a profitable well, a marginal well and a dry hole.
Students will learn how oil is separated and made into different products. Students also will learn about well site safety and begin to recognize warning signs while playing a Bingo game.
And, perhaps the best part, students will learn about boomtowns and well site safety while playing The Road to Petroville board game. Many other activities also are included.
This is the first curriculum offered to students at this age level. The Fossils to Fuel, Fossils to Fuel 2, Petro Active and CORE Energy programs have been available to Oklahoma teachers in grades three through 12 for several years. This new Little Bits program provides a set of lessons for students even younger.
OERB Education Director Landi Thompson recalls Oklahoma teachers asking the OERB to create a program that would appeal to students as young as six years old.
“Our original curricula are so successful in the classrooms that many teachers came to us asking that we develop lessons that were a little more simple, with exercises that begin to familiarize the kids with terms related to oil and natural gas,” said Thompson.
A committee of educators, OERB staff and oil and natural gas industry professionals gathered to write the lesson plans and exercises.
“We came up with some really wonderful, fun activities for the children,” said Thompson. “My favorite might be the song of rhyming terms that the kids do while jump roping. The entire curriculum is made up of such simple exercises that will really pay off once the kids reach the higher grades. They’ll begin doing the more advanced experiments, but will already know the terms and concepts.”
Teachers can attend free workshops to learn how to successfully use OERB’s new Little Bits curriculum and to enhance their own understanding of the petroleum industry. Workshops for this new curriculum begin in September. Teachers can enroll by visiting the workshop schedule page here.
OERB Executive Director Mindy Stitt says the organization’s curricula provide an insight into Oklahoma’s energy industry in a way simple textbooks could not accomplish.
“We looked at how the oil and natural gas industry was portrayed in textbooks. Research found those books alone didn’t give students enough in-depth information about the industry. We created a series of curricula that teachers could easily use to fill that gap,” said Stitt.
When a teacher attends a workshop for training in any of the curricula, they leave with a teacher’s guide and all the materials they need to teach the lessons and experiments in their classrooms. Once the class completes all the lessons and activities, students receive a free field trip from the OERB to various museums with exciting energy exhibits.
The kit of materials, training, and teacher’s guide are all provided free of charge. OERB also provides substitute reimbursements.
All curricula meet the state education standards, the National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
These curricula, funded voluntarily by Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners, have been instrumental in educating more than one million students across the state about the oil and natural gas industry.
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