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How Oil Drilling and Spills Affect Earth

Interactive passage with audio narration, comprehension questions, and printable PDF.

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 456
Subjects: scienceelareading
Standards: 5-ESS3-1
Languages: English, Spanish

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What's included

Reading passage

Reading comprehension

Audio narration

With word word highlighting

Comprehension quiz

Auto-graded

Writing activity

Open-ended response

Glossary & flashcards

Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

Bilingual support

About this reader

This comprehensive 400-word reading passage introduces fifth-grade students to the environmental impacts of oil drilling and oil spills, aligned with NGSS standard 5-ESS3-1. Students explore how drilling for oil can damage both land and ocean habitats, and learn about the devastating effects oil spills have on marine life, coastlines, and water quality. The passage includes real-world examples of major oil spills and explains why cleaning them up is so difficult. Audio-integrated features support diverse learners, while bold key vocabulary terms help students build scientific literacy. The passage connects directly to the NGSS Disciplinary Core Idea about human impacts on Earth systems, specifically addressing how drilling affects ocean and land environments. Accompanying activities include multiple-choice comprehension questions, writing prompts that encourage critical thinking about environmental protection, and graphic organizers that help students analyze cause-and-effect relationships. A simplified differentiated version ensures accessibility for all reading levels, and Spanish translations support English language learners. This resource provides foundational knowledge that prepares students for hands-on investigations and classroom discussions about human responsibility for protecting Earth's natural resources and ecosystems.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

Spilled oil from Deepwater Horizon 2010-04-22 1 — Debris and oil from the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform float in the Gulf of Mexico after the rig sank April 22, 2010. Spilled oil from Deepwater Horizon by US Coast Guard / Wikimedia Commons

Oil drilling is the process of making deep holes in the ground or ocean floor to remove oil trapped in rocks below Earth's surface. People use oil to make gasoline for cars, heat homes, and create plastics. Oil drilling matters because while it provides energy we use every day, it can seriously damage the environment where plants and animals live.

When companies drill for oil on land, they must clear forests and grasslands to build roads and drilling equipment. This destroys habitats—the natural homes where animals find food, water, and shelter. The drilling process also releases chemicals into the soil that can poison plants and contaminate drinking water for nearby communities.

Drilling in the ocean creates even more problems. Offshore drilling platforms are giant structures built in the sea to reach oil beneath the ocean floor. These platforms can leak small amounts of oil every day, harming fish, dolphins, and other marine life—animals and plants that live in the ocean. The noise from drilling also confuses whales and dolphins that use sound to communicate and find food, like trying to have a conversation in a room with a loud jackhammer running constantly.

Sometimes drilling accidents cause oil spills, when large amounts of oil leak into the ocean. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico released about 200 million gallons of oil into the water. Oil floats on water and forms a thick black layer that blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants. Birds that land on the water get covered in oil, which destroys the natural oils in their feathers that keep them warm and help them float. Sea turtles, fish, and other animals swallow the oil, making them sick or killing them.

Cleaning up oil spills is extremely difficult and expensive. Workers use special boats with floating barriers called booms to surround the oil and keep it from spreading. They also use chemicals that break oil into smaller drops, but these chemicals can harm marine life too. Even after cleanup efforts, oil can remain on beaches and in the ocean for years, continuing to damage ecosystems.

Interesting Fact: Some bacteria naturally eat oil and help clean up spills, but they work very slowly—it can take decades for them to break down all the oil from a major spill!

What is oil drilling?

Making holes to remove oil from rocksCleaning up oil from the oceanProtecting animals from oil spillsBuilding structures in the ocean

What happens when forests are cleared for drilling?

Animals find new homes easilyAnimal habitats are destroyedMore oil is producedThe soil becomes healthier

How much oil spilled in the Deepwater Horizon accident?

About 20 million gallonsAbout 50 million gallonsAbout 200 million gallonsAbout 500 million gallons

Why does drilling noise harm whales and dolphins?

It makes the water too warmIt confuses their communication and navigationIt destroys their food sourcesIt covers them with oil

How does oil affect birds that land on it?

It helps them swim fasterIt makes their feathers colorfulIt ruins feathers that keep them warmIt gives them more energy

Why is cleaning up oil spills so difficult?

Oil sinks to the ocean bottomOil evaporates quickly into airOil spreads and cleanup chemicals harm marine lifeThere are no tools to clean it

Oil can remain in the ocean for years after a spill.

TrueFalse

What are booms used for?

Drilling for more oilSurrounding oil to stop it spreadingFeeding marine animalsMaking loud noises underwater

How Oil Drilling and Spills Affect Earth

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CONTENT PREVIEW

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