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Interactive
Other

Molleindustria: Oiligarchy

For Students 9th - 10th
Interactive game lets players consider the downside of our dependence on oil by having them step into the role of a purposefully bad oil industry executive driven to extremes by insatiable demands for more oil and more profits. Everyone...
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Website
US Energy Information Administration

Energy Information Administration: Mexico

For Students 9th - 10th
A report on Mexico's Oil Industry. Oil is the "cash cow" of Mexico and has been run by the state owned company Pemex. Includes many pictures, maps, and graphs to enhance the material.
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Unit Plan
A&E Television

History.com: Spindletop

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Texas' booming oil industry that grew up around the oil field at Spindletop, and how many of the major oil companies in America, including Gulf Oil, Texaco, and Exxon, trace their origins there.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Supreme Court Decides [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
An explanation of the Supreme Court decision in 1911 that broke up the monopoly of Standard Oil, charged with unreasonable restraint of trade. Read commentary that claimed that the decision did not really increase competition in the oil...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Rockefeller's Millions [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
With the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s brought a boom to the economy. Read about the beginning of the oil industry, and particularly, John D. Rockefeller's role in it. See how his control of many parts of the...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Pattillo Higgins 1863 1955

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read the captivating story of Pattillo Higgins and his role in making Texas the leader in the oil industry.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Teapot Dome Scandal

For Students 9th - 10th
Wikipedia provides good reference material and pictures about this political scandal involving the oil industry during the 1920s.
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: The American Whaling Industry

For Students 9th - 10th
The resources here, including artifacts, photographs, official documents, and maps, represent the American whaling industry. Includes teaching guide.
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Article
A&E Television

A&e History Channel Uk: Oil, the Hamill Brothers and Spindletop

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Read about the Hamill brothers and their role in the discovery of oil at the Spindletop hill in Texas in 1901.
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Article
NBC

Msnbc: In Receding Floodwaters, More Damage Found

For Students 9th - 10th
September, 2005, report of the aftermath of Hurricane Rita including damage, fatalities, impact on the oil industry, and rescue missions.
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Website
Government of Alberta

Alberta Historic Sites and Museums: Oil Sands Discovery Centre

For Students 9th - 10th
The Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort McMurray is operated by the Alberta government but sponsored by private companies and individuals. It tells the story of the history and development of the oil sands.
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Handout
US Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Oil and Gas Extraction

For Students 9th - 10th
Complete overview of the Petroleum Industry, including nature of the industry, working conditions, employment prospects, wages, and outlook. Brief descriptions of several careers in the industry are included, with links to those expanded...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Robber Baron or Industrial Statesman [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
John D. Rockefeller was a controversial figure in the business world of the 19th century. Read about his actions to consolidate his control of the oil refining business in all its aspects. Find arguments claiming that he was an...
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Website
Open Door Team

Open Door Web Site: The Second Industrial Revolution

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the achievements that occurred during the second Industrial Revolution are found on this site. It includes information on gas and electric power, communications, public transportation, the motor and flight industries, and...
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Handout
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: Gulf Oil Spill Could Be Most Damaging in History

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussed is the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the attempts to clean up the oil, animals and industries threatened, policies questioned and a comparison made to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Includes instructional resources. (4 May...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Sherman Anti Trust Act and Standard Oil [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
As the influence of large corporations spread in the age of big business, push-back was inevitable. Read about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the government's attempts to rein in the laissez-faire attitudes of corporations and the lack...
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Website
Other

Cambridge University Press: Palm Oil

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the origins of, European demand for, and the devlopment of modern-day global trade of palm oil.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Texas Council on Economic Education:texas Economics Eras & Individuals [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A 10-lesson, 83-page unit targeting Grades 4 and 7. Lessons cover various eras in the history of Texas, including boom and bust towns; the eras dominated by cattle, fences along the frontier, cotton, and oil; the Dust Bowl and the Great...
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eBook
Other

Canadian Centre for Energy Information: Energy Machines [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
In this teaching unit for Grades 4 to 6, stuidents learn all about the drilling rigs and pump jacks that are used in the petroleum industry.
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Website
Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College: American Presence in Middle East

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive description of the U.S. presence in the Middle East. Focuses on oil as the cause of America being in this region.
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Lesson Plan
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Minerals in Texas [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson plan, they examine the history of oil and oil and gas production In Texas. They...
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Activity
Energy4Me

Energy4me: Modeling an Oil Reserve

For Students 9th - 10th
Doing this investigation will help you understand how geoscientists identify and explore petroleum-rich reserves.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Lesson: Calculate When the Oil Industry Will Dry Up

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will use the internet to read graphs and solve real world problems regarding the amount of time it will take for the oil to be used up, an exponential function exploration.
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Handout
Energy for Sustainable Development

Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Edwin Laurentine Drake

For Students 3rd - 8th
A profile of Edwin Laurentine Drake (1819 -1880), the first man to successfully obtain oil from the ground by drilling in 1859. His invention of the drive pipe stopped flooding and cave-ins, and revolutionized the oil industry.

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