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

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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

Exploring the Geography of Oklahoma with the State Geography Steward

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Description: Join the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education, Oklahoma State University, and the State Department of Education for a session on Oklahoma's geography. Steve Stadler, Ph.D. from the Oklahoma State University Department of Geography will be discussing wind power and other sources of renewable energy as an illustration of Oklahoma's unique physical and human characteristics.

Watch the recording of the session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Steve Stadler, Ph.D.

Going Viral: Exploring the Spread of Democracy and Authoritarianism

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Description: In this lesson students will analyze the rise of two government systems around the world which are considered polar opposites: democracy and authoritarianism.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Cody Sivertsen

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 6: Understanding Disasters from a Local, Regional, and Global Perspective

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Description: This lesson covers disaster preparedness and recovery and how these strategies differ across local, regional, and global scales. Impacts upon disaster response as they relate to existing socioeconomic inequities along with complicating factors due to COVID-19 will also be discussed. Additionally, the issue of climate change will be explored as it relates to disaster frequency and intensity.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Heather Braucher, and Dr. Mark Shafer with the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

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

Tulsa Race Massacre Session 3: Understanding the Rise of Greenwood Using the Five Themes of Geography

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Description: Join the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education for a discussion on understanding the rise of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, OK using the Five Themes of Geography. The content presented in this session is for upper elementary and middle school educators. This material is aligned with the Oklahoma Academic Standards for the Social Studies and the National Geography Standards.

Watch the recording of this session here.

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

Tulsa Race Massacre Session 2: Processing the Tulsa Race Massacre Through Literacy

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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

Tulsa Race Massacre Session 1: What was Black Wall Street and Where is it Now?

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Description: Join the Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education and Professor Quraysh Ali Lansana for a session about the history of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, OK during the years leading up to the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. This material is aligned with the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS
Produced By: Quraysh Ali Lansana, Autumn Brown, Najah-Amatullah Hylton, Crystal Patrick

Online PD Session 4: Teaching Geography Online

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Description: This session will cover strategies for teaching geography online, and will be led by OKAGE Teacher Consultant and National Geographic Certified Educator Clayton Canon. The content presented will be at the middle school level, but educators of all grade levels are welcome to use this resource.

Watch the recording of this session here.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Clayton Canon

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

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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

Gridiron Geography - 2020

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Description: Using the Big 12 Football schedule as a guide, your students will learn about the geographical and historical significance surrounding the participating teams' campuses, home cities or towns, home states, mascots, players, and more!

Grade level(s): Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School
Standards: GFL
Produced By: Dr. Steve Stadler, Brenda Chapman, Deji Duggar, Jeff Woolsey, Johnnie Keel, Ann Kennedy, Pam Merrill, Clayton Canon, Becca Palczynsky, and Taylor Woodard.

Online PD Session 2: Climate Change - 2020 Update

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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

Disasters Happen: Are you Ready? 2020 Update

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Description: Students will investigate natural disasters, discover the urgency to be prepared, and create an emergency kit which they will present to the class.

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

Online PD Session 1: Introducing Places, Landscapes, and Regions

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Description: When geographers look at a particular place or landscape, they look at its spatial organization. Geographers focus on the built environment or look of human places and ask what processes or activities are happening in those areas. All positive and negative human actions on any landscape or place create various unique spatial patterns. When thinking about the look of places, density, concentration and pattern represent how any space is organized. When examining large or small places, we encounter areas that have similar or common characteristics, which help create regions. Once a region is recognized, we can look at various similarities closely, then study, discuss and interact with various unique topics or issues within that area.

Watch the recording of this session here.

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

We Got Cows (and Quakes)

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Description: The objective of this lesson is to introduce students to natural disasters, which ones occur in the state of Oklahoma, and their aftermath. Students will analyze the spatial patterns of natural disasters in the state using the Giant Traveling Map of Oklahoma. Students will also learn the effects of natural disasters on people and how the government responds.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Carole Hollman

"Karibu Afrika"...Welcome to Africa! Exploring with Map Skills

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Description: Students will use the Giant Map of Africa to familiarize themselves with the continent using observation and mapping skills. This lesson will provide hands-on practice for students to use coordinates, scales, and plotting to learn about the continent of Africa and its countries.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Cindy Petree

Understanding Immigration Using the National Geographic Giant Traveling Map of Europe

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Description: Students will conduct their own research on European countries and use the Giant Map of Europe to examine immigration patterns and challenges.

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

"Sahara Some Places in Africa You Need to Know!" Africa's Major Physical Features

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Description: Students will use the Giant Map of Africa to become familiar with locations and descriptions of the continent’s major physical features. Middle school is the first opportunity to examine the human and physical characteristics of Africa to any degree of detail. This lesson is designed to be used as an overview or introduction to the continent of Africa by examining its major physical features while also challenging students’ preconceived ideas about the continent.

Grade level(s): Middle School
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Cindy Petree