"Where Could I Bee" - Asia

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

I’m in a Cambodian temple
Around 900 years of age
Surrounded by jungle
It sets a beautiful stage
It was built in honor
Of a Hindu king
And the name of this temple
Is what you must bring
Without hesitation
And give it to me
If you want to win
Where could I bee

Download the packet and view Page 9 for the answer!

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

"Where Could I Bee" - Middle East

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Description: This activity contains eight riddles about countries in the Middle East. These may be used as bell ringers, in conjunction with the Giant Maps of Africa or Asia, or to enrich other activities. Below please find a sample riddle from this packet.

I’m climbing on mountains
As high as I can
But I’ve forgotten their name
Here in Southwest Iran
Tell me the name of this Middle Eastern mountain chain
Tell me where could I bee
With my forgetful brain

Download the packet and view Page 7 for the answer!

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

Refugee Resettlement in Oklahoma

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Description: Students will analyze and interpret geographic data, engage in critical thinking, and develop a deeper understanding of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of refugee resettlement in Oklahoma.

Grade level(s): Middle
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Cory Williams & Grace Gierach

Using the Asia Giant Map to Understand Light Pollution

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Description: This lesson is designed to use the Giant Traveling Map of Asia to help students contextualize effects of light pollution in current events and upon migratory birds. These lesson materials are developed in support of OKAGE’s Geo-Inquiry project efforts.

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

National Geography and Oklahoma Academic Standards Connections - Social Studies

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Description: This resource is designed to show how Geography can be used to supplement instruction in Social Studies. This packet includes a selection of each applicable Oklahoma Academic Standard for Social Studies and its alignment to the relevant National Geography Standard(s). The goal of the National Geography Standards is to enable students to become geographically informed through knowledge and mastery of three things: (1) factual knowledge; (2) mental maps and tools; (3) and ways of thinking. Contact us at okage@ou.edu to receive free resources and for more ideas about how to use Geography in your classroom.

This packet includes standards from the following revision:
Social Studies (2019)

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

An Exploration of the Archaeology of Jerusalem

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Description: These readings are meant to supplement Dr. Rangar Cline’s discussion on his archaeological research in Jerusalem for the 2021 OKAGE workshop on the city’s significance in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. View the presentation here.

Visit Dr. Cline’s website here for more information on his research.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: GFL
Produced By: Rangar Cline, Ph.D.

Jerusalem: A Center for Peace or Conflict? 2021 Update

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Description: Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is considered a holy city by three religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. For centuries it has also been a spiritual center. Just like the dove, it is associated with peace and its name is even thought to be derived from the phrase “of peace.” Students will identify Jerusalem’s religious significance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They will also learn about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and explore what it is like for people on both sides of the conflict.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Teresa Potter

OKAGE Online Professional Development Session 5: Oil, Religion, and the Global Landscape

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Description: The Middle East produces about one third of the world’s oil which makes the entire world reliant on that oil and natural gas. The goal of this lesson is to use map skills to gain an understanding of the effects of abundant oil supplies in the Middle East. Using maps, students will analyze data from a geographic perspective. They will increase their understanding of conflict and cooperation among specific groups over oil and religious differences, along with the impacts of COVID-19 upon global markets. They will also identify multinational peace-keeping efforts to stabilize relationships in the Middle East.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Teresa Potter

Online PD Session 3: Asia's Cultures and the 2020 Health Crisis

Click on the image above to download the lesson. This lesson will open in a Google Drive folder instead of a zipped file due to its size.

Description: This lesson is designed to assist students in using visual information to identify urban areas in East Asia and determine how COVID-19 spread rapidly through these areas.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Susan Smith

Dust to Dust: The Changing Face of a Desert

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Description: The study of geography, history, and the social studies in general, provide ample opportunities for students to evaluate the positive and negative consequences of human modification the Earth’s surface through the use of limited and non-renewable resources. This lesson focuses on the ways imported technology rapidly transformed the arid environment of the Arabian Peninsula, only to be transformed again by human mismanagement of fossil aquifers just a few decades later. 

Grade level(s): Middle School               Standards: OAS, GFL         
Produced By: Pam Merrill

Urbanization in India: Push and Pull Factors

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Description: This lesson focuses on the causes and challenges of India’s rapid rural-to-urban migration. 

Grade level(s): Middle School             Standards: OAS, GFL             
Produced By: Janet Hall

Cause and Effects of the Korean War

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Description: Students will examine conflicting sources on the causes of the Korean War.  They will complete a cause-effect chart.

Grade level(s): Middle School                Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Ann Kennedy

Greenpeace, Barbie and the Indonesian Rainforest

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Description: Students will practice creating deeper questioning skills while learning about rainforest destruction in Indonesia.

Grade level(s): Middle School                Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Janet Hall

Pacific Rim Economic Tigers

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Description: This lesson will focus on four counties which have been given the nickname Economic Tigers because of their aggressive economies. They are: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong.  The impact of the Ring of Fire on these economies will also be explored. This is a great hands-on lesson that will address some of the economic problems of today.

Grade level(s): Middle School                Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Teresa Begley

Who Owns the Sea

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Description: China’s territorial conflicts with neighboring countries not only include land conflicts with India. As China seeks to control potential underwater fossil fuel resources, their conflicts also extend into the East China Sea and the South China Sea and include high-tech “island creation” by China’s government.  Students will analyze a series of graphics in order to understand and make predictions about these conflicts.

Grade level(s): Middle School                  Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Janet Hall

Vietnam, A Fast Growing Economy

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Description: Students will discover how Vietnam has become one of southeast Asia’s fastest growing economies and has lifted millions out of poverty by moving the country into lower-middle income status.

Grade level(s): Middle School                  Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Glenda Sullivan

This Land is Our Land

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Description: Students will gain an understanding of the historical context for modern-day Arab-Israeli conflicts, as well as involvement of the international community in contributing to and in trying to resolve conflict.  They will also practice interpreting political cartoons over this topic.

Grade level(s): Middle School                  Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Janet Hall

Big Oil: Exploring Alternatives

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Description: The goal of this lesson is to use map skills to gain an understanding of and make inferences about the effects of abundant oil supplies in the Middle East. Using maps, students will analyze data from a geographic perspective. They will gain an understanding of conflict and cooperation among specific groups over oil and religious differences. They will also have a better understanding of wind energy as an alternative form of energy.

Grade level(s): Middle School                  Standards: OAS, GFL, CC        Produced By: Teresa Potter

Mission Possible: Solving Ethnic Conflict in South Asia

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Description: Students investigate, discuss and collaborate with classmates, then propose solutions to the conflict between Pakistan and India.

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Heather Braucher

Taming the Dragon: The Yangtze and Three Gorges Dam

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Description: China’s Three Gorges Dam generates electricity, reduces the likelihood of flooding downstream, and has increased the shipping capacity of the river connecting the heartland of China to the Pacific Ocean. This lesson will provide students with an opportunity to explore how the building of the Three Gorges Dam has affected various groups of stakeholders and weigh the costs and benefits of the dam’s construction.

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Jane Purcell