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Give a Classroom Presentation

Classroom Presentation Quick Tips

SPE Dallas Section member Danny Bell gives classroom presentation

1. Know your audience.
Ask the teacher about what the students have studied before you prepare your presentation.

2. Use analogies to illustrate points
 Kids can related to 42 milk jugs (gallons) in a barrel of oil.

3. Speak in terms kids understand Use simple words rather than complex, and refrain from using too many technical terms.

4. Keep it interactive
Use activities and ask questions to keep the kids. (Don't lecture.)

5. Give opportunities for questions and answers.
Speakers are often asked career questions by students.You can use this list to prepare.

6. Have fun!

Seek opportunities to give presentations

  • Contact a local school or administrative district to offer a classroom presentation
  • Talk with your children’s teachers about classroom speaking opportunities
  • Look for opportunities to speak to local clubs and civic organizations
  • Let Energy4me know that you are willing to give classroom presentations in your area. Energy4me receives requests from educators for classroom presenters.

Contact the teacher

Contact the teacher prior to your presentation. Sometimes it is difficult to reach teachers during the day. Email may be a more effective way to communicate, especially if you cannot visit the school in advance.

  • Finalize logistics - location, parking, time, how many students will attend, any special rules you should know about, equipment needed, etc.
  • Learn about the students - what academic subjects are they covering in class, what types of activities are most effective, suggestions from the teacher on how to develop the presentation so it is age-appropriate.

Prepare for your presentation

Get you Kit!

Energize your classroom presentations with tools and classroom activities!

Order an Energy4me Kit (or borrow one from your section).Speaker resources, sample presentations, classroom activities and hands-on experiments for teaching energy in the classroom in a fun, exciting way. Activities for every grade level are included.

View kit contents. Order a kit!


Order FREE materials to provide to the school

Request a free book
SPE will donate a complimentary “Oil and Natural Gas” book to the school on behalf of the SPE member who makes an energy-related presentation. Please email the following details to EnergyEd@Energy4me.org to request the donation.

      • Presentation date
      • School or group name
      • Grade level
      • Number of students
      • School’s shipping address with contact name
        (This is for our records. The actual book will be shipped to the requestor.)


Career Brochures: A resource for high school students on petroleum engineering careers
Includes the Top 10 Reasons to Become a Petroleum Engineer. Orders of 100 brochures or fewer are free! Complete the special request form and email it to EnergyEd@Energy4me.org or fax to +1.866.719.8241 (US only) or +1.972.739.6192 (Non-US) to order.

 

Review the Speakers Guide

A quick-reference guide to giving a classroom or career fair presentation
Includes a prep sheet, tip sheet, ideas for creating your own sample kit, a sample speaking agenda, and an evaluation form for teachers to fill out after the presentation. Download a copy of the guide.

Speakers are often asked career questions by students.You can use this list to prepare.

 

 

Sample speaking agenda

Introduction, 10 minutes  

Introduce yourself. Tell how you got interested in petroleum engineering, how your work makes a difference by providing energy for the world, and how many companies are helping to develop alternative energy sources. Talk about the other jobs you’ve had that led you to where you are now. Explain the education necessary to do your job. Tell what a typical day is like on the job.  

Demonstration/Presentation, 15 minutes

  • Open the discussion by quizzing the students with the Fact or Fiction cards in the Energy4me Kit. Consider offering a small prize for questions answered correctly.
  • Ask students to name common everyday products made from oil. Most people think of oil for transportation and gasoline, but don't think of toys from plastics, cosmetics, chewing gum, aspirin, or candles.
  • Use the oil poster in the Energy4me Kit to show that oil is found in pores of rocks, not in an underground lake.
  • Use one of the activities in the Energy4me Kit to illustrate a major petroleum concept.
  • Do a show and tell. Pass around interesting items that you use in your business that will provide some “wow” factor for the students.
  • Energy4me provides ready-to-go PowerPoint presentations you can use with these activities (see section below).

Work environment/technology, 10 minutes

Talk about the location, salary, personal rewards, asset teams, technology, and how engineers work together as a team. For older students, spend more time on the career opportunities-excellent compensation and chances for advancement.

  • Activity: you can make a difference! Begin this activity by reminding the class that while some of them may choose to help the planet by finding more energy, everyone can help by using energy wisely. Ask them to tell you ways they can reduce the energy they use at home, at school, and at the store.

Questions & Answers, 10 minutes

Answer questions from students. If they don’t have questions, ask them some. Say goodbye and provide the teacher with an evaluation form. Some speakers provide an email address in case students have follow-up questions. 

Plan Your Presentation

Download and customize any of these presentations developed by and for SPE members.

Energy—Making Our Lives Easier (elementary)
Oil/Gas/Energy—Myths and Reality (educators/adults)
Petroleum Engineers Make a World of Difference (middle school/high school)
$100 Oil: Hard Truths - Reasoned Response (educators/adults)

Presentation tips:

Give a sense of the “big” picture. Put your work in the context of the company and what you are trying to achieve (petroleum engineers help supply the energy that makes the world run and improves the quality of life for people everywhere).

Talk about the work environment. Describe how you work as a part of a team, about the services and products your company provides, and what working conditions are like—hours, dress code, travel, safety gear and technology you use.

Personalize your presentation. Young people will be interested to know not only what you do, but also, how you got where you are. Tell students why you selected your career or occupation. What previous experiences, education, or jobs directed you to and prepared you for your current position? How would you advise someone to prepare for a job like yours?


Find Props to Bring Along

Make a personal “Magic Suitcase” or borrow from one your section may already have that students can pass around.

      • Proppant
      • Cores/plugs (especially with a residual hydrocarbon odor)
      • Set well cement
      • Well casing sample
      • Frac fluid
      • Hydrocarbon sample kits
      • Fossils
      •  Digital videos (animated or actual) that are oilfield related

 

Sample Classroom Activity

Following are two variations of a core sampling exercise that makes a impact in the classroom. Cupcake Core Sampling - Trying to "see" what is beneath the surface of the Earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. In this activity, students model core sampling techniques to find out what sort of layers are in a cupcake. (Adapted from Women in Mining Education Foundation Activities)

Let's Drill for Oil and Gas - Add mini-M&M's to your cupcake core samples, and students can "drill for oil". The experiment follows two short stories in the exercise. (Provided by the NEED project).

 

Career Brochures


A resource for high school students on petroleum engineering careers
Includes the Top 10 Reasons to Become a Petroleum Engineer. Orders of 100 brochures or fewer are free! Complete the special request form and email it to EnergyEd@Energy4me.org or fax to +1.866.719.8241 (US only) or +1.972.739.6192 (Non-US) to order.

 

 

Give your presentation

>>Speaker Resources

>>Start a classroom presentation program for your section