Lesson Ideas 

Inquiry Tasks

• Invite students to listen to the state song, Oklahoma! as it was performed originally in the 1953 musical. Ask students to "think-pair-share" images that the song evokes about the state's environment and its people. Ask student to examine a print copy of the lyrics as they appeared in the original state statute adopting Oklahoma! as the state's official song. Encourage students to consider how the lyrics reflect Oklahoma and its people. Ask student pairs to develop a T-chart, identifying aspects of the song that provide an accurate versus inaccurate image of our state's history, its resources, its economy, or its people. Ask students to assume the role of a citizen from the 1950s and write a letter to Governor Nigh commending him for his support of the state song or a letter to our present governor, suggesting why a new state song should be written.

• Ask students to examine the question, "How can sports unite a city or state?" Encourage students to brainstorms their favorite Oklahoma sports teams, college or professional, and what unique aspects of the team makes them, or others, loyal fans? Ask students to read the article, "Ten Years of Thunder Basketball Changes the State" (below). How would the author answer the same question? Encourage students to check news updates periodically throughout the year, investigating how the Thunder or their own favorite team gives back to the community.  

• Encourage students to examine recent migrations of ethnic groups into Oklahoma and their positive impact on the diversity of our people and the economics of their communities, using secondary sources from the Oklahoma Historical Society (below) and recent news reports. Based on research and deepened understandings, ask students to select one ethnic group and create a 2-minute radio spot or one-page magazine ad to be used during a commemorative month, such as September (National Hispanic Heritage Month), November (Native American Heritage Month), February (Black History Month) or May (Asian Pacific American Heritage Month).

• Using the comprehensive lesson,75th Anniversary of Musical Oklahoma, developed by the Oklahoma Historical Society and the background information about the musical, ask students to evaluate the cultural impact of the musical, why it prompted Governor George Nigh to lobby for changing of the state's official song, and its lasting impact on the image of Oklahoma's people. Ask student groups to discuss why movies, theater, and music have such a powerful influence over the identity of a place or its people.

• Reinforce students knowledge of an interstate highway, called Route 66, by providing a map of the route (below) and asking if any students live or have lived in towns near the route. Why would a highway be of historical and cultural significance? Invite students to listen to versions of the song, "Route 66" by Bobby Troup, as first performed by Nat King Cole or a later version by Chuck Berry  Ask students to investigate how the highway impacted the growth of Oklahoma using resources from the Oklahoma Historical Society (below). Ask students to summarize their learning by responding to the question, "Why are cultural symbols, like the 'open road' important to a society?" Invite students to investigate efforts by towns in other states, seeking to revitalize the state highway, based on a report by PBS, Route 66.

Primary Sources 

Secondary Sources 

• Oklahoma Title 25, State Statutes, legal adoption of Oklahoma! as the state's official song (1953). 

• Oklahoma, theater poster, advertisement for the musical.

• Grapes of Wrath, publisher's dust jacket illustration. 

• Thunder Cares, community archives of team's charitable sponsorships and activities.

• A Fluid Frontier: Minority and Ethnic Groups and Opportunity in Oklahoma, online exhibit from the Oklahoma History Center.

• The Grapes of Wrath, Oklahoma History Center, explains the novel and its significance for Oklahoma. 

• Route 66, Oklahoma History Center, article for student reference. 

• Route 66 Map, traces route across the nation and major cities along the highway. 

• Revitalizing Route 66, 8-minute documentary, PBS. 

• Oklahoma! article from the Oklahoma History Center discusses the impact of the musical on the state of Oklahoma.

• Ten Years of Thunder Basketball Changes the State, by Brett Dawson, The Oklahoman (2018). 

• Immigration, Oklahoma Encyclopedia, Oklahoma Historical Society. 

• Asians, Oklahoma Encyclopedia, Oklahoma Historical Society. 

• Hispanics, Oklahoma Encyclopedia, Oklahoma Historical Society.

• How Mexicans Changed an Oklahoma Town, 5-minute documentary, BBC News; report on the positive impact of Hispanic laborers on the city of Guymon. 

• First Asian-American Oklahoma Legislator Elected, report by KGOU (2014).