For your own knowledge, poll the class to gauge student understanding of environmental sustainability. Sample questions may be:

• What is an oil spill?
• Why do oil spills happen?
• Who/What is impacted by oil spills?
• How do you clean up an oil spill? 

• You may find that many of them don’t have a comprehensive grasp of the issue and may carry with them misconceptions. Don’t worry. In the engagement step, students will have the opportunity to gain more background knowledge and to have their misconceptions addressed.