Race to the Arctic

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Description: The objective of the lesson is to evaluate the underlying causes and develop proposals for addressing the future use of natural resources in the changing environment of the Arctic region. Using the essential questions “How can people cooperatively solve common challenges?” and “What responsibilities do we owe the preservation of Earth’s natural resources?” students will work as cooperative teams to investigate the current changes in the Arctic’s environment, the geo-political issues arising from new access to valuable resources, and the impact current regional conflicts have had on the environment, relationships among the international community, and the economic development of the Arctic region.

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

The Humanitarians

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Description: Non-Governmental Organizations play a huge role in humanitarian response to crises in the world. They are often the first on the scene of a natural disaster and provide relief in political upheaval. The role of the NGO, or as the term is evolving, Civil Society Organization is changing, the organizations themselves facing financial deficits, and the humanitarian role finding itself increasingly unwelcome and sometimes in danger in its attempt to help those who need it most.

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Jayne Marley

Economic Freedom

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Description: How much does economic freedom determine the extent of economic development in a country? In this lesson students examine geographic and economic data and form a hypothesis about what affects the standard of living in more developed and less developed countries.

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

I Want to Go There! Shaping Landforms

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Description: Students will gain understanding of Earth’s landforms utilizing map skills, geographic concepts, visual aids, creative-sensory exercise and hands-on learning with real world application.

 Grade level(s): Middle                     Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: LeaAnn Wyrick

Conflict and Cooperation: Make Peace, Not War

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Description: Students will examine case studies of contemporary regional and global events in order to describe and analyze conflicts and cooperation between nations.

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

Our Five Oceans: Exquisite, Essential and Endangered

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Description: Through exploration and analysis of primary and secondary sources of visual information, and printed and digital texts, students will investigate and discover this interconnected nature, the importance of protecting the oceans, and how what happens to our oceans affects all life on earth.

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

Straits of Magellan

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Description: Students will locate the Straits of Magellan, discover its importance as a sailing route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans until the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, and will learn what its navigation purposes are today. 

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

Flipping Through the Western Hemisphere

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Description: Students will gather information on a selected state, province, or country to better understand the relationship of the countries in the Western Hemisphere.

 Grade level(s): Middle                       Standards: OAS, GFL             Produced By: Bob Harrelson

Five Themes of Geography: Latin America Tour

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Description: Students will research a designated country using the five themes of geography and create a travel itinerary for Latin America.

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

Historic Barriers to Transportation and Progress

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Description: Throughout history people have had to overcome problems with transportation before real progress could be made. Exploration, jobs, trade, communication, and adaptation to the environment were all challenges to people throughout history with transportation being the key to each. The purpose of this lesson is to investigate the impact that environmental barriers to transportation have had on people including human invention.

 Grade level(s): Middle and High School   Standards: OAS, GFL               Produced By: Bill Amburn

By Road, By Rail, By River

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Description: Economic decisions for four centuries have been based on how quickly a product can get to market. Transportation evolved to keep up with market demands. Trails became national roads, river and sea-going transportation increased in size to take on larger and more specialized loads, and rivers themselves underwent transformation into canal systems connecting larger bodies of water with inland ports.

 Grade level(s): Middle and High School   Standards: OAS, GFL               Produced By: Jayne Marley

Major World Political Systems

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Description: The purpose of this lesson is to provide students information on representative governments and authoritarian systems throughout the world.

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

Exploring El Niño and La Niña

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Description: Students will understand how El Niño and La Niña are formed and how climate patterns can determine if an El Niño or La Niña event is likely to occur.

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

Climbing Weather

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Description: Students will discover the difference between climate and weather. Students will gain perspectives on varying climates in the Western Hemisphere and their connections to physical location, land use, and population.

Grade level(s): Middle                        Standards: OAS, GFL              Produced By: Tiffany Neill

World's Most Extreme: Human-Geo by Country

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Students will learn to analyze patterns by comparing information through a spatial perspective.

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

Where are Water and Land Located?

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Description: To acquaint students with specific locations of landforms and bodies of water in the world.

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

Ancient World First Aid Culture Kit

Description: The goal of this lesson is for students to identify the four main, ancient cultural hearths and their relative locations.

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

The Nitty Gritty City: Becoming an Urban Geo-Detective

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Description: This is a collection of lesson plans about geo-skills from the OKAGE 2012 Summer Institute.

Grade level(s): Middle School, High School
Standards: GFL
Produced By: OKAGE

Take Your Peck

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Description: Physical characteristics associated with ethnic background and cultures develop over time through a process known as natural selection. In this lesson students will explore this process through an activity that simulates the natural selection process in birds. Students will later analyze the physical characteristics of people from various countries by exploring photos from the “Photo of the Day” project from National Geographic.

 Grade level(s): Middle                 Standards: PASS, GFL             Produced By: Tiffany Neill

House Hunters: Top 5

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Description: Students will explore five of the Forbes.com “Top 10” cities to live in 2010 by analyzing non-fiction text about each city. Students will participate in a dual-phase Jigsaw activity to read and analyze the text. Students will then make claims about which city is the best city in which to live. Students will back this claim up with evidence they gain from the texts.

 Grade level(s): Middle                 Standards: PASS, GFL             Produced By: Tiffany Neill