Oklahoma Academic Standard 6. The student will investigate how post-war social, political, and economic events continued to transform the state of Oklahoma from the 1950s through the present.

Objective 6.2  Analyze the impact of economic growth in various sectors including:

  A.  impact of rural to urban migration

  B.  development of wind, water, and timber resources

  C.  continuing role of agriculture

  D.  emergence of tourism as an industry

  E.  development of the aerospace and aviation industry including the FAA and the influence of weather research on national disaster preparedness

  F.  oil and gas boom and bust, including the discovery of new fossil fuel resources  

  G. improvement of the state’s transportation infrastructures, such as the interstate highway system and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. 

In a Nutshell

The objective develops student understanding of the diversity of economic activity related to Oklahoman’s available natural resources. A more detailed examination of Oklahoma's economic sectors should help students understand the concept of boom and bust cycles, economic principles of supply and demand, and the role of state government to support economic enterprises. 

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Provide opportunities for students to evaluate the extent that Oklahoma’s economic decisions have impacted the human and physical environment of the state. 

• Provide opportunities for students to actively engage in asking and answering geographic questions related to the development of natural resources in Oklahoma by acquiring, organizing, and analyzing multiple sources of data and information. 

• Analyze spatial patterns of physical environments, using geographic technology from contemporary and historical perspectives. 

• Analyze and explain the impact of Oklahoma’s economic growth by constructing a visual and/or multimedia presentations related to the diversity of the state’s economy in the post World War II era. 

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• economic boom and bust cycle

• economic diversity, gross domestic product, exports

• primary, secondary, and tertiary economic activities 

• wind farms, large-scale farming, pivot irrigation 

• manmade recreational bodies of water 

• employment and economic impact of aviation and aerospace industries 

• Some students may assume that Oklahoma’s economy has grown primarily because of fossil fuels; in reality, the economy has profited from diversified industries such as water, wind, tourism, aviation, and weather.  

Instructional Resources