Using the Oklahoma Giant Map to Understand the Heavy Consequences of Light Pollution - Updated 2025

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Description: This lesson is designed as a template to introduce the Giant Traveling Map of Oklahoma and provide examples of how this map may be used to enrich instruction in a variety of subjects including Science, Mathematics, English Language Arts, and Social Studies. The content presented in this lesson was selected as an illustrative example of how all subjects are used to understand a particular issue which impacts communities differently around the world and in Oklahoma. These lesson materials were developed in support of OKAGE’s Geo-Inquiry project efforts. To sign up to participate in a dark sky Geo-Inquiry project with OKAGE, visit http://okageweb.org/event-registration-1 or contact us at okage@ou.edu.

Grade level(s): Elementary, Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Becca Palczynsky

"Where Could I Bee" - Latin America - Updated 2025

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Description: This activity contains approximately 50 riddles about countries in Latin America. These may be used as bell ringers, in conjunction with the Giant Map of Latin America, or to enrich other activities. Below please find a sample riddle from this packet.

Where I am now
Is more “Chile” than cold
Although the degrees
Are about 30 below
In this place there is very little rainfall
And of Earth’s deserts,
It’s the driest of all
Tell me the name
Of this warm and dry land
And “Where Could I Bee?”
Will fall into your hand

Download the packet and view Page 23 for the answer!

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS
Produced By: Richard Tuberville

"Where Could I Bee" - Europe - Updated 2025

Click on the image above to open the lesson. It will open as a Google Doc.

Description: This activity contains approximately 80 riddles about countries in Europe. These may be used as bell ringers, in conjunction with the Giant Map of Europe, or to enrich other activities. Below please find a sample riddle from this packet.

Where I am now
Is too cold for a bee
They call it Greenland
But it doesn’t look that color to me
The question I’m asking
You should learn this in school
Is “What country claims Greenland
Under its rule?”

Download the packet and view Page 21 for the answer!

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS
Produced By: Richard Tuberville

Exploring Oklahoma’s Cities on the Giant Map - Updated 2025

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Description: This activity is designed to help students identify some of Oklahoma’s major cities on the map. Students will be introduced to coordinates and will use them to identify these locations. By exploring on the Giant Map, students will also become more familiar with cities across Oklahoma while growing their perspective of the world around them.

Grade level(s): Elementary
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Cheryl Ivester

How has COVID-19 Impacted National Parks in the United States? - Updated 2025

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Description: Students will investigate the impacts COVID-19 has had upon public lands with a particular focus on national parks in the United States. In order to examine these impacts, students will collect data on COVID-19 cases and national park visitation around the US. The Giant Map of North America will be used to illustrate how national park visitation has changed in specific locations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this has influenced current park management practices and policies.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Naomi Mayer

Using the Geo-Inquiry Process to Explore and Understand Black Mesa State Park - Updated 2025

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Description: For this lesson students will look at how COVID-19 has affected Black Mesa State Park. They will then learn how to use the National Geographic Geo-Inquiry process to explore the issues related to Black Mesa through a geographic lens. The students will then develop their own Geo-Inquiry questions so they can research how COVID-19 has affected this state park. After they have gathered this information they will then go to Black Mesa State Park and meet with the Park Manager so students may ask the questions that they have formulated and for the Park Manager to show the students the physical effects that COVID-19 has had on Black Mesa State Park due to the influx of visitors. Upon completion of the in-class and field research components, students will present their findings to classmates and/or publicize their results to be accessed by stakeholders.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Naomi Mayer