Lives on Hold: Teaching the Refugee Crisis

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: More people today have been forced to flee their homes by conflict and crisis than at any other time since World War II. Through this collaborative, hands-on lesson, students will simulate facets of involuntary migration and displacement. The resources provided allow students to engage with authentic situations experienced by asylum seekers, helping them to better empathize with and understand the plight of refugee families.

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

Developing Critical Literacy Skills While Examining Controversial Topics

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: Students will be exploring and showcasing an area of development taking place in their local area and how it is impacting their community.

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

The Deforestation Balancing Act

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: The objective of the lesson is to examine the evidence linking deforestation to the controversial topic of climate change. Using the essential question, students will demonstrate an understanding of the causes of deforestation, including its role in global climate changes of the present and future. Students will conclude their investigations in a simulated climate conference, during which they will utilize geographic information and facts to support their views toward this controversial topic.

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

Geography 101 LiveBinder

Click on the image above to access the LiveBinder.

Description: This LiveBinder provides a crash course in teaching Geography. Topics include the Five Themes of Geography, using data and maps, population, GIS resources, and more!

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

Teach a Man to Fish - Controversies Surrounding Foreign Aid

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: Students will analyze the major controversies surrounding the rationale and impact of foreign aid to developing regions in order to formulate informed opinions and effectively engage in deliberations regarding financial assistance to growing economies.

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

Rich or Poor: Barriers and Paths to Development

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: Students will examine basic reasons why some nations and regions develop while other do not, including analysis of the factors used by geographers to measure human development and two opposing models toward development, historically and currently utilized by developing nations’ leadership toward reaching economic progress. Use of real-world families from selected developed and developing regions serve as the catalyst for student investigations.

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

Dust to Dust: The Changing Face of a Desert

Click on the image above to download the lesson

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

Click on the image above to download the lesson

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

Who? What? Where? Oklahomans Who Made a Difference

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: In this lesson, students will use the Oklahoma Giant Traveling Map to identify and gain a better understanding of notable historic and present day Oklahomans who made significant contributions to the state.

Grade level(s): Elementary (Adaptable to 8th & 10th grade American History)
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Lynn Tilley

It Happened in Oklahoma! Historically Significant State and Local Landmarks

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: In this lesson, students will use the Oklahoma Giant Traveling Map to identify and locate important state and local landmarks, as well as gain a better understanding of their historical significance.

Grade level(s): Elementary (Adaptable to 8th & 10th grade American History)
Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Lynn Tilley

Global Football Through the Media's Lens

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: Students will gain an understanding of the role of media as a source of public information regarding geographic events, development, and issues by examining and weighing the validity of various forms of media. The environmental challenge of climate change is used to illustrate the six basic purposes of media, utilizing an interactive online global tour. Students will have the opportunity to expand their research and technological skills through the production of online global tours, investigating additional topics of desertification, deforestation, pollution, overpopulation, and urban sprawl.

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

Bon Appetit: Food Security on a Hungry Planet

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: Students will investigate the status of food security and accessibility in both developed and developing nations through a study of the typical week’s dietary intakes of a global sampling of families, using classroom-ready Tourbuilder lessons, which combine Google mapping technology, digital maps, photographs, and video clips. Teacher-centered instruction will introduce students to the current practices of agriculture in developing nations, as well as provide background information regarding potential solutions to address food security. During the course of the lesson, students will be engaged in the analysis of maps, graphs, and cartograms to gain an understanding of the spatial relationships between food availability, trade, and population growth.

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

Blown Away! Oklahoma's Wind Energy

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: The purpose of this lesson is for students to learn the fundamental parts of a windmill, to use the scientific method to isolate and adjust variables when constructing a functional windmill that lifts weights, and to understand energy conversions/transfers and how a windmill converts moving air into usable mechanical energy. Students will understand that wind power is a choice we can make that reduces pollution and climate impacts.

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

Examining Statistics: Oklahoma's Wind Energy

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: The purpose of this lesson is for students to examine statistics and understand that as a society and as individuals, we can make choices to help reduce the climatic impact of electricity generation. Students will understand that generating power with the wind is a choice we can make that will reduce the severity of environmental issues.

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

Resources and Population Patterns: What's the Connection?

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: Students will analyze data including a variety of special purpose maps of Oklahoma to determine the reason for population growth and decline in specific areas. The Giant Traveling Map of Oklahoma is used to help students understand the changing population distribution across Oklahoma.

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

Conflict Kitchen

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: The United States has conflicts with other countries. U.S. citizens have perceptions that are often negative toward these countries. How can we change these perceptions in our students? The answer is educating students about the culture and people of these countries, hence, the importance of geography classes. This lesson will allow the students to explore the culture of a country they are studying and work to change perceptions.

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Brenda Chapman

You're so Fake!

Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: Students will be able to distinguish between what is real news and fake news.

Grade level(s): Middle                    Standards: OAS, GFL
Produced By: Jeff Woolsey

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: The word today struggles with the credibility of stories and sources. There are a variety of reasons for this phenomenon – satire, entertainment, political partisanship, and social media. Students will experience the process of determining credibility of sources. (Media Literacy)

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Brenda Chapman

Water We Going To Do?

Click on the image above to download the lesson.

Description: In this lesson, students will explore how water behaves on various substrates (ground surfaces), what occurs during a flood, and the causes of flash floods. This lesson concludes with students designing and testing various floodplain models intended to mitigate the effects of flash floods.

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: OAS, GFL                          Produced By: Danny Mattox

Immigration & Ethnic Settlement Patterns In Post-Reconstruction Oklahoma, 1865 - 1900

Click on the image above to download the lesson

Description: In this lesson students will explore the different immigration and migration patterns of settlement in post-reconstruction Oklahoma, and develop an appreciation of our rich cultural and ethnic heritage.

  Grade level(s): High School                    Standards: OAS, GFL              Produced By: Lynn Tilley