Fundamentals of Geographic Thinking and Spatial Intelligence - Updated 2025

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Description: This presentation includes examples of how geographic thinking and spatial reasoning are used to understand our world. Concepts of geographic thinking include spatial significance, patterns and trends, interrelationships, and an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving. Geographic thinking and the five themes of geography (location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, region) can be used to answer the following questions.

• What makes places and landscapes different from one another and why is this important?

• How has the Earth been transformed by human action?

• How and why do sustainability and vulnerability change from place to place and over time?

• What is where? | Why is it there? | Why care?

Grade level(s): Elementary, Middle, High School
Standards: GFL
Produced By: J. Scott Greene, Ph.D.

Exploring Careers in Public Service - Updated 2025

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Description: Through this lesson and associated exercises, students will research specific public service careers to explore the role they play in their communities and governments, the benefits of working in public service, and how to pursue these careers.

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

Using Giant Floor Maps to Understand Bald Eagle Populations - Updated 2025

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Description: In this lesson, students will use the Oklahoma or North America Giant Floor Map to explore where bald eagles can be found, what the requirements are for a healthy habitat, and how their habitats are affected by human activity.

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

Leave No Trace - Updated 2025

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Description: This lesson is designed to introduce students to best practices for visiting city, state, and national parks. Students will learn how to enjoy and appreciate parks and other public lands while respecting other visitors, the land, and wildlife.

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

Using the Oklahoma Floor Map to Explore Public Lands - Updated 2025

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Description: This lesson is designed to introduce students to different types of public lands in Oklahoma. These include National Recreation Areas, Wildlife Refuges, and State Parks. Students will learn where these parks are located, why they are established, and the activities they can do while there.

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

Using the Asia Giant Map to Understand Light Pollution - Updated 2025

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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

Half the Park is After Dark: Exploring Dark Sky Parks Around the World - Updated 2025

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Description: This lesson is designed as a template for a project focused on exploring dark sky parks in America and around the world. This lesson 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 that impacts communities differently around the world and in Oklahoma.

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

Designing and Siting a Pollinator Garden - Updated 2025

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Description: This lesson was created as a template to design and site a pollinator garden and provide examples of how a pollinator garden 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.

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

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

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

Stability in our Ecosystems: A Closer Look at the Impacts of Preservation and Conservation - Updated 2025

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Description: This unit is designed to allow students to take a closer look at a local ecosystem and compare and contrast the benefits of preservation and conservation. Students will be able to define conservation and preservation and explain the impacts of each on their local ecosystem of choice. Our hope is to empower learners to understand the distinct impacts of conservation and preservation. 

Furthermore, students can interact with a local environment, complete a hands-on learning experience, then compare what they have learned to other environments at the regional or global scale. 

Students will develop their own preservation and/or conservation plan for this local ecosystem while focusing on the ecological, economic, and political impact of this plan.

Grade level(s): Elementary School, Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Amber DeWinter

Geography in Novel Studies - Updated 2025

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Description: Which works of literature have you shared with students that you believe had a powerful effect on their thinking on a social studies issue? The materials included here are designed to provide ideas about the ways in which geography can be used to help understand the place-specific context of elementary-level novels and works of literature.

Grade level(s): Elementary School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Taylor Woodard

Canada Scavenger Hunt on the North America Giant Map - Updated 2025

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Description: This activity is designed to help students identify some of Canada’s physical features, cultural areas, major cities etc. on the map.

Grade level(s): Elementary School, Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Angela DeLong & Kim Richter

Using Geography to Understand Math and Statistics in the Modern World - Updated 2025

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Description: Explore complex geographic topics and concepts such as population distribution, economic geography, and public health on an elementary level using the Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts and the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Mathematics. Students will read the book, “If the World Were 100 People” by Jackie McCann and will use statistical literacy skills to research global statistics independently or with a group to create their own book including the information they found, visual representations of the information, and illustrations.

Grade level(s): Elementary School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: J. Scott Greene & Becca Palczynsky

Using Science, Math, Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Geography to Understand What Really Happened to the Grid During the Last Snowstorm - Updated 2025

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Description: Join the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education and the State Department of Education for a professional development session titled “Using Science, Math, Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Geography to Understand What Really Happened to the Grid During the Last Snowstorm!”

We know the snowstorm of February 2021 exposed the sensitivities of the grid systems. What happened in Texas can and does happen elsewhere, for various reasons. The public view and the industry view differ. So, the question for us is: "What really happened?" During this presentation, we will highlight how elements from all subject areas can be used to explain the causes of this incident as well as understand implications for future service interruptions due to extreme weather events.

Kylah McNabb is a renewable energy specialist, policy advisor, and educator. She currently is the Principal of Vesta Strategic Solutions, LLC, in OKC. Prior to that, Kylah served as a Renewable Energy Specialist, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, 2008-2017, and as an Energy Policy Advisor, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy & Environment, 2016-2017. Kylah will share her unique insights and data regarding the recent events. Her perspective will not only include what did happen but also, what did not happen!

Watch the recording of the session here.

Grade level(s): Elementary, Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS
Produced By: Kylah McNabb

Tulsa Race Massacre Session 2: Processing the Tulsa Race Massacre Through Literacy - Updated 2025

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Description: Join the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education and National Geographic Certified Educator, Taylor Woodard, for a session on helping students process the Tulsa Race Massacre through literacy. The content presented in this session is for upper elementary and middle school educators. This material is aligned with the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies, the Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts, and the National Geography Standards.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Elementary, Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Taylor Woodard

Online PD Session 2: Climate Change - 2020 Update - Updated 2025

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Description: Students will understand the causes and effects of climate change. They will also be able to determine the difference between mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change. In this lesson, students will apply adaptation strategies to real-world climate change scenarios.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Elementary, Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: J. Scott Greene, Ph.D.; Angela Trent

Oklahomans on the Move - Updated 2025

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Description: Students will use the Giant Traveling Map of Oklahoma to explore the state’s population distribution—past and present.

Grade level(s): Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS
Produced By: Clayton Canon

The (not so) Great Pacific Garbage Patch Part 2

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Description: The students will analyze causes and possible solution to ocean debris with an emphasis on plastics.

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

The (not so) Great Pacific Garbage Patch Part 1

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Description: The students will analyze causes and possible solution to ocean debris with an emphasis on plastics.

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