Le Partenariat - Case Study "Debate about oil"

Your name and role: Nathalie Piquet, Earth and biology teacher

School/organization: Collège de l’Europe Ardres, France

Email (optional):  nathalie-julien.piquet@ac-lille.fr

1. Briefly describe the activity you delivered in your classroom, including the ages of children/young people (200 words maximum):

This activity was delivered to 3 classes of about 25 students (14 years old).

The students were divided in 2 groups: one was the head of an oil company and the other was part of an environmental protection association.

They first had to research about oil and plastics and then write a speech to convince the other group. The last part was a debate during which they had to make propositions.

The instructions were:

GROUP 1

You are the head of an oil company. You have to convince the public that the use of oil cannot be abandoned in favor of renewable energy. You have to write a speech to defend your point of view.

Your text should answer the following questions:

- What is oil? Under what conditions is oil formed? (steps)

- For what human activities are oil and its derivatives used?

- What problems would mankind face if it was decided to stop using oil or its derivatives (at least 3 reasons in different fields: employment, health, tourism, transport, agriculture, etc.)?

GROUP 2

You are a member of an environmental protection association. You have to convince the public that the use of oil must be abandoned in favor of renewable energies. You have to write a speech to defend your point of view.

Your text should answer the following questions:

- What is the impact of oil exploitation on the climate?

- What are the consequences of its use on the environment and human health?

- What solutions exist to replace it (3 examples are expected in different areas)?

2. How did the activity address climate change? (200 words maximum):

This activity addresses climate change because it deals with fossil fuel and its consequences on environment and on people.

It is a good way to make students debate, argue and try to find solutions.

3. What was a success? (You can share small stories, if you like) What was the impact on the pupils/school? (200 words maximum):

It was a success for some students because they really wanted to convince the others and were fully involved in the activity. They were able to make links between problems, consequences and solutions. They realised that such issues are very complex and have a lot of consequences on various sectors.