ALEX Learning Activity

  

Oil Spill Artistry

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Ginger Boyd
System:Geneva County
School:Samson Middle School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 1752
Title:
Oil Spill Artistry
Digital Tool/Resource:
Oil Slick Water picture from Google Images
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

This is an art activity adding oil to watercolor paint to reinforce the concept that oil and water don't mix. Students will be shown that no matter how hard they try these two liquids will avoid each other at all costs. The oil will either float on top or through the watercolors or, if applied to the paper first, prevent the watercolors from absorbing into the paper. Students will be able to make real-world connections between this art activity and what happens during a real oil spill. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 5
5 ) Construct explanations from observations to determine how the density of an object affects whether the object sinks or floats when placed in a liquid.

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
P4.3: Matter exists in several different states; the most common states are solid, liquid, and gas. Each state of matter has unique properties. For instance, gases are easily compressed while solids and liquids are not. The shape of a solid is independent of its container; liquids and gases take the shape of their containers.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Matter and Its Interactions
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use data from observations to explain how the density of an object affects whether an object sinks or floats when placed in a liquid, like water.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • density
  • volume
  • buoyancy
  • data
  • observe
  • explain
  • sink
  • float
  • mass
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Objects are made of many tiny particles to small to be seen.
  • Some objects have many tiny particles compacted close together that causes the object to sink while other objects the same size may float because their tiny particles are less compact.
  • Some objects of the same size sink when others float.
  • Buoyancy is the ability of an object to float.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Predict the results of different types of objects being placed in water. Test the objects and communicate the results.
  • Use appropriate tools (Scale, balance, ruler, or graduated cylinder) to measure the weight, mass, and/volume of an object.
  • Construct an explanation to describe the observed relationship between density and the ability of an object to sink or float.
  • Identify the evidence that supports the explanation that density affects the ability of an object to sink or float.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain phenomenon like sinking and floating.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Matter and Interactions
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.5.5- Observe how the density of an object affects whether the object sinks or floats when placed in a liquid; predict whether an object will float or sink in water.
Arts Education
ARTS (2017)
Grade: 5
Visual Arts
3) Communicate personal ideas, images, and themes through artistic choices of media, technique, and subject matter.

Unpacked Content
Artistic Process: Creating
Anchor Standards:
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Process Components: Investigate, Plan, Make
Essential Questions:
EU: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and artmaking approaches.
EQ: How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error?
Concepts & Vocabulary:
  • Cultural context
  • Formal & conceptual vocabulary
  • Genre
  • Linear perspective
  • Preserve
  • Principles of design
    • Movement
    • Emphasis
  • Relief
  • Vanishing point
Skill Examples:
  • Use a variety of materials (wood, found objects, wire, paper, clay, etc.) to construct a three-dimensional work of art.
  • Have students keep journals to reflect on and combine ideas for their works of art.
  • Draw a still life of students' favorite objects, while adding color with a variety of media (paint, pastels, collage, etc.).
  • Draw an object or other images (landscapes, hallways, etc.) in linear one-point perspective.
  • Create tessellations in connection with interdisciplinary subjects such as mathematics.
  • Write a short story and illustrate the story with original drawings.
  • Draw and transform two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional forms.
    • (squares to cubes, circles to spheres, triangles to pyramids and cones)
  • Write a personal artist statement to accompany an original work of art.
  • Draw a landscape including foreground, middle ground, and background.
  • Create an artwork integrating observational and technical skills to solve a problem or address contemporary social issues.
  • Create a bas-relief by carving into a clay slab.
Learning Objectives:

The students will communicate personal ideas and images about oil spills through watercolor paintings. 

Students will observe the effects of mixing oil and water by adding a drop of oil to watercolor paint. 

Students will use the results from their artwork to explain how the density of oil affects whether oil sinks or floats when placed in water.

 
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
After/Explain/Elaborate
Activity:

As a class, brainstorm ideas and create a concept map on the board for effects of an oil spill. Discuss the relationships or connections between the items listed in the concept map (examples may include loss of jobs, dead animals, increase in oil prices, water pollution, loss of food supply). All of these things are the effects of an oil spill. Lead a discussion about the cost of clean-up and how many volunteer hours it takes to clean up an oil spill. 

Show students the picture of the oil slick water from Google images and explain that students will create a watercolor painting to communicate through art their feelings about oil spills. 

Briefly explain to students that watercolor painting is the process of painting with pigments mixed with water. In this activity, students will also mix a drop of oil with paint to observe what happens when oil mixes with water simulating a real oil spill in their paintings. 

Distribute materials to students. Each student will need one sheet of watercolor paper. Mix each watercolor and water in individual paint containers; these may be shared by several students. Pour cooking oil into one separate container which can also be shared by several students.  Students should put their watercolor paper on a tray and use an eyedropper to drop watercolors on their paper. Tell students to be sure to use a different eyedropper for each watercolor and for the oil. Be sure to emphasize that students should choose colors that depict their feelings and have personal imagery to them about oil spills. When the student is finished, place another sheet of watercolor paper over the painting to remove excess paint and create the "marbling" effect.  Hang students' artwork up to dry and let dry for several hours or overnight.

After their artwork completely dries, students should be able to see swirls of empty space in their artwork representing the separation of the oil and watercolor paints.

Lead a discussion that oil is less dense than water which means the molecules that make-up water are packed more tightly than those in the same amount of oil, so water will always sink below the oil. Oil floats on water because it is less dense, which allows cleanup crews to contain a spill with booms and collect it from the water surface using skimmer equipment. Detergents like both water and oil, which is why they are so great at cleaning. When there are oil spills in the ocean, detergents are used to wash the oil from seabirds caught in the oil spill, saving their lives. 

Students will complete the reflection about their watercolor painting in their science journals.
Assessment Strategies:

This activity should be assessed using a student reflection in their science journal.

Students should be able to answer the following questions about their watercolor: 

I chose the patterns, colors, and shapes in my watercolor painting to emphasize _____________________________ about oil spills. The challenge(s) in working with watercolors for this project was/were ___________________________.  I understand oil is _________ dense than water which allows it to float on top of water and create the empty spaces in my artwork.  This is also the reason oil floats on water during a real oil spill.
Advanced Preparation:

Materials

liquid watercolors (several students may share watercolors)

watercolor paper (one piece of paper per student)

eye droppers (one for each watercolor and one for cooking oil)

cooking oil (one small drop per student)

disposable aluminum trays (each student will need a tray)

paint containers (one container to mix each watercolor with water)

picture of Oil Slick Water from Google Images (included)
Variation Tips (optional):

For a bit of a variation, students can dip their watercolor paper in water first, then follow the directions above.  The extra water will cause the watercolors to flow more easily over the surface of the paper.
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This activity can be used as an extension/enrichment activity after an oil spill clean-up project or experiment.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
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