Lesson Plan

The Distribution and Creation of Fossil Fuels: A Collaborative Jigsaw Research Project

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Grade(s)

6

Overview

Students will begin this lesson by accessing their prior knowledge on Earth's natural resources through a brainstorming activity. The teacher will introduce the topic of fossil fuels, which are non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The teacher will lead students in utilizing the jigsaw literacy strategy, in which students will become members of a home group and an expert group as they research and discuss their assigned topic. This lesson will culminate with students creating a presentation in the form of a research paper, poster, or slideshow to demonstrate their knowledge of the distribution and creation of fossil fuels.

This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Science (2015) Grade(s): 6

SC15.6.10

Use research-based evidence to propose a scientific explanation regarding how the distribution of Earth’s resources such as minerals, fossil fuels, and groundwater are the result of ongoing geoscience processes (e.g., past volcanic and hydrothermal activity, burial of organic sediments, active weathering of rock).

Unpacked Content

UP:SC15.6.10

Vocabulary

  • Natural resources
  • Minerals
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Groundwater
  • Geoscience processes
  • Distribution
  • Extraction
  • Depletion
  • Water cycle
  • Rock cycle
  • Plate tectonics

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Humans depend on Earth's land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources.
  • These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geoscience processes.
  • The water cycle, the rock cycle, and plate tectonics are examples of geoscience processes that distribute Earth's resources.
  • The environment or conditions that formed the resources are specific to certain areas and/or times on Earth, thus identifying why those resources are found only in those specific places/periods.
  • The extraction and use of resources by humans decreases the amounts of these resources available in some locations and changes the overall distribution of these resources on Earth
  • As resources as used, they are depleted from the sources until they can be replenished, mainly through geoscience processes.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including that ongoing geoscience processes have caused the distribution of the Earth's resources.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct a scientific explanation of the phenomenon.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation of the distribution of Earth's resources.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The Earth's resources are formed as a result of past and ongoing geoscience processes.
  • These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past and ongoing geoscience processes.
  • The extraction and use of resources by humans decreases the amounts of these resources available in some locations and changes the overall distribution of these resources on Earth.
  • Because many resources continue to be formed in the same ways that they were in the past, and because the amount of time required to form most of these resources (e.g., minerals, fossil fuels) is much longer than timescales of human lifetimes, these resources are limited to current and near-future generations. Some resources (e.g., groundwater) can be replenished on human timescales and are limited based on distribution.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.6.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.8

Participate in collaborative discussions using information from a source.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.6.8

Vocabulary

  • Collaborative discussions
  • Source

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The purpose of collaborative discussions using information from a source.
  • Collaborative discussions occur when participants actively listen, build on others' ideas, and ask clarifying questions.
  • Generally accepted rules for discussions.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Engage in a collaborative discussion.
  • Use information from a source to support their discussion.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Information they learn from a source can support collaborative discussions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.11

Utilize written, visual, digital, and interactive texts to generate and answer literal, interpretive, and applied questions.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.6.11

Vocabulary

  • Written text
  • Visual text
  • Digital text
  • Interactive text
  • Literal questions
  • Interpretive questions
  • Applied questions

Knowledge

Students know:
  • There are a variety of text sources, including written text, visual text, digital text, and interactive text.
  • Text sources can be used to create and answer questions.
  • Literal questions are those that can be answered using information directly from the text.
  • Interpretive questions are those that can be answered by inferring information from the text.
  • Applied questions are those that can be answered using information inferred from the text and a reader's background knowledge and experience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use written, visual, digital, and interactive texts to create and answer questions.
  • Create and answer literal, interpretive, and applied questions.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • There are three levels of questions that can be generated: literal, interpretive, and applied.
  • They can use written, visual, digital, and interactive texts to create and answer all three levels of questions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.24

Write about research findings independently over short and/or extended periods of time.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.6.24

Vocabulary

  • Research findings

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Research strategies.
  • Independent writing skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write about their research findings.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can demonstrate their thorough understanding of a topic by writing about their research findings.
  • Some research projects will be shorter, while others will be longer.

Primary Learning Objectives

  • Students will conduct research on the distribution of fossil fuels on Earth.
  • Students will use evidence from research to explain how non-renewable resources are the result of ongoing natural geological processes. 
  • Students will conduct a short research project to write answers to essential questions related to the science content. 
  • Students will utilize information from written and/or digital texts to answer literal, interpretive, and applied questions.
  • Students will engage in collaborative discussions with diverse partners, building on their classmates' ideas and expressing their own ideas, using information from a scientific source.

Procedures/Activities

Before Strategy/Engage: 10 minutes

  1. Brainstorm: Ask students to brainstorm a list of Earth's natural resources on their notebook paper. At this point, all answers are acceptable.
  2. Using the interactive whiteboard, whiteboard, chalkboard, or chart paper, begin creating a class list of Earth's natural resources. Ask student volunteers to add to the list. If needed, explain to students that natural resources are things that are available in the environment that people use; natural resources can be living or non-living. 
  3. After the class list is complete, tell students they will focus on three very important natural resources: coal, oil, and natural gas, which are considered fossil fuels. If these terms were already on the class list, circle or highlight them and ask students to do the same on their lists. If these terms were not on the class list, add them, and ask students to do the same on their lists. 
  4. Tell students they will begin researching information to learn how fossil fuels are distributed on Earth and how they are created.

During Strategy/Explore & Explain: 60+ minutes

Note: This portion of the lesson will make use of the "Jigsaw" literacy strategy. If the teacher is unfamiliar with this method, the following websites provide additional information about the implementation of this research-based strategy.

"Classroom Strategies: Jigsaw" from Reading Rockets

"Jigsaw" from adlit.org

  1. Students should be divided into groups of four. This will be the students' "home group". Each student in the home group will be assigned a different essential question to research:
    • How do we use fossil fuels in everyday life?
    • How are fossil fuels created?
    • Where on Earth and within Earth are fossil fuels located?
    • How can we conserve this non-renewable resource, and what alternate forms of energy could we use?
  2. After the teacher assigns each student in the home group one essential question, the students who are researching the same topic will meet in "expert groups". These are students across the home groups who are assigned to research the same essential question.
  3. Students will use the "Jigsaw Research" handout to guide their research and take note of important information. 

    Note: If the students have access to digital devices, the teacher could allow students to research the answer to their assigned essential question online. Alternatively, the teacher can lead students to the following websites to conduct their research. If the students do not have access to digital devices, the teacher could print the information from the websites or provide other resources (books, encyclopedias, etc.) for students to use for research purposes.

    "Energy Sources: Nonrenewable"-from Energy Kids U.S. Energy Information Administration

    "Non-renewable energy"-from National Geographic

    "Adventures in Energy"-from adventuresinenergy.org

    "Fossil Fuel Energy"-from kidzworld.com

  4. After students complete their research with their "expert groups", students will return to their original "home groups". Each student will share their research with their home group. As students discuss their findings, students should take notes on the "Home Group Discussion" handout. Be sure students know they will be responsible for knowing the answers to all of the essential questions in the culminating activity.

After Strategy/Explain & Extend: 60+ minutes

  1. After discussing their research findings with their home group, students will use the notes they took on the "Home Group Discussion" handout to develop a presentation that answers all four of the essential questions. This presentation could be in the form of a research paper, poster, or slideshow presentation. The teacher could require all students to complete one type of presentation, or students could be allowed to choose the format of their presentation from the options provided. 
  2. The end products will explain how these non-renewable resources are the result of ongoing natural geological processes.

Assessment Strategies

The students will be informally assessed as they conduct research on the distribution of fossil fuels on Earth to ensure students are focusing on pertinent information. The teacher could formally assess the students by evaluating their research notes on the "Jigsaw Research" handout.

The students will be informally assessed as they meet with their home groups to discuss their research. The teacher could formally assess the students by evaluating their research notes on the "Home Group Discussion" handout.

The students will be formally assessed upon the completion of the culminating activity using the "Research Project Rubric" from readwritethink.org. This rubric offers methods to assess all parts of this research project: the research, the group work, the final project, and the presentation. The teacher can choose to formally assess students in each of these categories or just the final project and presentation. The teacher should use this rubric to assess the student's ability to propose a research-based explanation of how fossil fuels are distributed and created on Earth. 

Acceleration

Students who meet the Primary Learning Objective can conduct additional research on the natural resources available in their home state. Students can add this additional research information to their final presentation. Some examples of possible research questions include:

  • What type of natural resources is available in your home state?
  • Are these natural resources renewable or non-renewable?
  • Where in your state are these natural resources located? 
  • Why do you think these natural resources are located in these specific areas?

Intervention

The teacher should selectively group students to ensure a range of reading abilities are present in both the home and expert groups. Rather than allowing students to freely search the internet as they conduct their research, the teacher can provide two to three articles to read (see aforementioned websites for several options). The teacher should closely monitor the students as they conduct their research and provide support as needed.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

Greater than 120 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Background/Preparation

Student Background Information:

As this lesson will serve as an introduction to nonrenewable resources created by geologic processes, students will not need to possess background information on this content. Students will need prior experience in navigating to particular websites (if technology devices will be utilized). Students will need to have the ability to take notes from non-fiction texts. The teacher should ensure that students are aware of the procedures and expectations for collaborative group work. 

Teacher Background Information:

Our planet contains a variety of natural resources that help support life on Earth. The products that we use every day are developed from these natural resources. For example, notebook paper is a product made from the pulp of trees. Natural resources are generally divided into seven categories: plants, animals, soil, minerals, air, water, and energy sources (including sunlight, fossil fuels, wind, and hydropower). Some resources are considered renewable because they are naturally replenished in a relatively short amount of time. Some examples of renewable resources are plants, animals, and solar energy. Other resources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, are considered to be non-renewable resources because there is a limited amount available on Earth, and they take millions of years to form. This lesson will focus on the non-renewable resource of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas.

This lesson will utilize the "Jigsaw" literacy strategy, in which students will become members of a home group and an expert group as they research and discuss their assigned topic. The following websites will provide additional background information regarding this research-based literacy strategy: "Classroom Strategies: Jigsaw" from Reading Rockets and "Jigsaw" from adlit.org.

The teacher will need to make a copy of the "Jigsaw Research" and "Homegroup Discussion" handouts for each student. The teacher should preview these two handouts prior to teaching the lesson to be aware of the specific instructions for these parts of the activity. The teacher should copy the "Research Project Rubric" from readwritethink.org to formally assess each student's work at the conclusion of the lesson's activities.

The lesson's culminating assessment can be in the form of a research paper, poster, or slideshow presentation (for example, PowerPoint or Google Slides). The teacher may assign a particular presentation format or give students the opportunity to choose between these presentation options.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Student Materials

Notebook paper

Pencil

Highlighter

"Jigsaw Research" Handout

"Homegroup Discussion" Handout 

Teacher Materials

Interactive whiteboard, whiteboard, chalkboard, or chart paper

Rubric for formal assessment:

"Research Project Rubric" from readwritethink.org 

Technology Resources Needed

Student Technology Resources

Student digital device-laptop/tablet (if available)

Websites to use for jigsaw research:

"Energy Sources: Non-renewable" from Energy Kids U.S. Energy Information Administration

"Non-renewable energy" from National Geographic

"Adventures in Energy" from adventuresinenergy.org

"Fossil Fuel Energy" from kidzworld.com

Teacher Technology Resources:

Teacher computer with internet access connected to projector or interactive whiteboard (if available)

Approved Date

2016-08-19
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