LibGuides: Grade 7 Social Studies: Turning Points

Research Databases for LS Social Studies

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BrainPop This link opens in a new window Engaging learning games, animated movies, and activities. Designed with relevance, depth, and humor to encourage kids on their unique learning paths.
Britannica School This link opens in a new window Welcome to Britannica School, a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Elementary, Middle, and High School. Discover encyclopedia articles, multimedia, primary sources, games, and other learning resources that support student research and reinforce curriculum standards.
Classroom Video On Demand This link opens in a new window Classroom Video On Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform that makes it possible to incorporate outstanding educational programs from Facts On File and Films Media Group into your classroom.
CultureGrams This link opens in a new window CultureGrams® is a leading reference resource for reliable cultural information on the countries of the world.
Explora Secondary This link opens in a new window Explora is EBSCO’s research interface designed specifically for students and educators. The secondary school version features relevant and reliable content and easy-to-use functionality to help high school students successfully complete their research.
Gale in Context: Middle School This link opens in a new window Created specifically for middle school students, Gale In Context: Middle School combines the best of Gale's reference content with age-appropriate videos, newspapers, magazines, primary sources, and much more. Categories cover a range of the most-studied topics including cultures, government, people, U.S. and world history, literature, and many more.
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Find overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of today's important social issues.
Infobase: History Research Center This link opens in a new window Infobase’s acclaimed history databases are designed to assist educators and students with their research needs. From this link search the following databases: American History, Ancient and Medieval History, and Modern World History
Kids Discover Online This link opens in a new window
World Book Online This link opens in a new window World Book Online is a suite of online research tools that includes encyclopedia articles, primary source collections, educator tools, student activities, educational games, pictures, audio, and video, complemented by current periodicals and related Web sites.

Kid Friendly Search Engines

Sometimes the internet gives us websites that aren't a great fit for our needs. Try these kid-friendly search engines to find sites that may be a better fit.

Useful Websites

5 Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Forever Disrupt the Future of Hospitality
These impacts listed are specific to the hospitality industry, but interesting innovations are suggested.
Astronomers identify 24 possible superhabitable worlds
Could transporting ourselves to another planet be the answer to life on earth?
City planners eye self-driving vehicles to correct mistakes of the 20th-century auto
From the Washington Post.
Hyperloop rockets passengers in levitating pod
High speed travel could revolutionize the way we live our daily lives.
The myths and reality about interstellar travel
From the BBC. Will we be able to travel to other planets?
See the Future of Transportation
A video from Time Magazine
Self-Driving Cars Explained
From the Union of Concerned Scientists
Terraforming facts for kids
What is terraforming?
There's Only One Way For Humanity to Survive. Go To Mars.
From National Geographic an interview with futurist Michio Kaku.

17 ways technology could change the world by 2025
From the World Economic Forum
The Future of Virtual Reality (VR)
From Forbes.com. The effects of VR will be broad, touching on our work, education, and social lives.
How VR In Education Will Change How We Learn And Teach
Explore the ways VR could make education better.
How will virtual reality change our lives?
From the BBC. Three experts discuss the ways VR tech will change how we do things.
The immersive future of video conferencing
How will video conferencing affect the future of work?

Basic Economics: Scarcity and Choices
Overview and meaning of scarcity, when resources are limited.
Causes of resource scarcity
A description of resource scarcity and its causes
Climate Basics for Kids
Provides a list with linked resources to learn about possible impacts from climate change.
The Effects of Climate Change
From NASA
Effects of global warming
From the National Geographic. There is a list of possible effects. You might choose one and research it further.
Follow the Food
From the BBC. Lots of interesting articles about the future of food.
How many people can our planet really support?
From the BBC. Overpopulation might not be the problem, but our rates of consumption might be what's hurting the planet most.
Humanity will find ways to adapt to climate change
From Newsela
What is Overpopulation?
A long article but provides an extensive explanation of overpopulation, its consequences, and possible solutions

The Future of Aging
What impact might the expansion of health span have on society?
Will We Live Longer in the Future?
And what will happen if we do live longer? This articles attempts to answer these questions.
20 Medical Technology Advances: Medicine In The Future – Part I
Some of the greatest ideas and medical technology developments that could give us a glimpse into the future of medicine.
The Future of Medicine: Bionic Limbs and Robotic Surgery
Our ability to create robotic limbs could create a more inclusive society.
Army scientists: Regrowing limbs could be the future for military medicine
Could the future of treating amputations include Soldiers regrowing their own muscle, bone, and nerve tissues?

The Growth of Renewable Energy: What Does the Future Hold?
The capacity of renewable energy is growing. This could have far-reaching effects.
Nuclear Energy for the Future
How can nuclear energy help nations tackle climate change?
How Elon Musk aims to revolutionise battery technology
Bigger and better batteries could revolutionize energy consumption.

U.S. Army is developing high-tech underwear
Improvements in gear can increase an army's strength.
Trump Created The Space Force. Here's What It Will Actually Do
From NPR (National Public Radio in the US). Future battles may take place in the stars.
How the Future Force Warrior Will Work
Read about the future super soldier.
China could overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2024
Economic superpowers may change.

5 predictions for what life will be like in 2030
From the World Economic Forum
17 ways technology could change the world by 2025
From the World Economic Forum
Future - World Changing Ideas
From the BBC
Mars is lovely at this time of year: futurists imagine life in 2050
From The Guardian
Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now
From the BBC
The World in 2076
From New Scientist Magazine

Search Strategies

When searching on the internet, remember to use key words related to your search. Imagine the "perfect" words that are on the website you're looking for and then search for those words:

impact, consequence, result, benefit, cost, future, change, disrupt, negative, con, help, development, futurist

And then combine with your topic key words using Boolean operators:

"driverless cars" AND impact AND result

"driverless cars" -wiki

"driverless cars" site:kid

Videos

Just for Fun

The 10 greatest changes of the past 1,000 years
In Europe, the last millennium has been shaped by successive waves of change, but which shifts, in which centuries, have really shaped the modern world? Historian Ian Mortimer identifies the 10 leading drivers of change.
10 Inventions From China's Han Dynasty That Changed the World
From History.com, here are a few of the biggest breakthroughs of the Han Dynasty.
The 10 Inventions that Changed the World
From National Geographic, the U.S. librarian of Congress ranks history's most important innovations.
10 Inventions That Changed Your World
Humans have been innovating since the dawn of time to get us to where we are today. Here are just 10 of the hundreds of inventions that profoundly changed your world. What else would be on your list?
10 Turning Points in Human History
Human history is full of exciting and often tragic events. The turning points in world history is an exciting topic for a discussion, some of the most prominent events are listed briefly here.
The 25 Biggest Turning Points in Earth's History
Our planet has existed for 4.5 billion years, and it has been a busy few eons. Here are the 25 biggest milestones in Earth's history. From leaps forward in evolution to devastating asteroid impacts, these were the turning points that shaped our world.
The Most Important Developments in Human History
An infographic which highlights some of the events that made history and helped shape the 21st century.
Turning Points in Modern History
This link requires a subscription to watch the episodes, but the turning points are briefly described in a list.

Books in the SP Library

Ancient Aztec Technology by Emily Jankowski Mahoney
Call Number: 972 AZT

ISBN: 9781499419269

Publication Date: 2016-07-31

"Technology is guiding force in all civilizations. Readers discover the role technology played in ancient Aztec life through text designed to reflect essential social studies curriculum topics. Accessible text introduces readers to the technology used by ancient Aztecs, helping them make their own comparisons to the technology available to us today."
YouTube and Videos of Everything! by Michael Centore
Call Number: 384.3 CEN

ISBN: 9781422240595

Publication Date: 2018-08-15
GoPro, Garmin, and Camera Drones by Tim Newcomb
Call Number: 681 NEW

ISBN: 9781422240557

Publication Date: 2018-08-15
Moments in History by Hibbert
Call Number: 909 HIB

ISBN: 9780712356701

Publication Date: 2017-06-01