Social Studies — Grade 7

Traveling through Africa

Students will plan a one-week, three country trip through Africa and create a travelogue of places they will visit. The students will create an electronic scrapbook of highlights of the trip (including cultural highlights, historical points of interest, geographic features, etc.)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

By Ren Bryan.

Resources on the web

Where in the world would you like to live?

Students compare thematic maps of the continents and the world as a whole to determine where they would like to live. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Where Do Your Possessions Come From?

Students learn about the Earth's natural resources and the ways that people use these resources. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

What makes a group?

Students will review the different groups in “A Patchwork of Ethnic Minorities,” one of the inset maps, and examine different ways that people can be organized into groups. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

What is Asia?

This Xpeditions lesson introduces students to diversity in Asia. After considering what is meant by the term "Asia," students identify the various regions in Asia and consider factors for determining what is considered a "region". (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

The travels of Ibn Battuta

In this Xpeditions lesson, students work in groups to research the different areas that the 14th-century Islamic traveler Ibn Battuta visited. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Through the eyes of a refugee

This lesson asks students to analyze the “Afghanistan, Land in Crisis” map (available in print and online) to determine how the physical geography of this region affects the lifestyles of the individuals who live there. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

The shape of things to come

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the shapes of countries around the world. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Religion and belief systems in Asia

In this Xpeditions lesson, students conduct an in-depth review of one of the major world religions by focusing on its origins, beliefs, and history. They then explore reasons for the spread or decline in Asia of each of the major world religions. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Products across borders

In this lesson, students identify foreign products available in the United States and learn about U.S. companies that sell products abroad. The students discuss globalization and illustrate two maps to show where products come from and where they're sold. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Oil and water in the Middle East region

In this lesson, from Xpeditions, students explore the roles of oil and water in the Middle East, especially in Iraq. Students use maps to look at the distribution of oil in the Middle East and discuss what it means for the different countries in the region. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Mapping the past

Students gain experience in working with historical maps as cultural artifacts that reflect the views of particular times and places. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Living through a drought

In this Xpeditions lesson, students practice map-reading skills. Using a drought map of Afghanistan, students learn how to recognize drought, where drought can occur, and how drought affects the people who live in those places. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Lions and people: Keeping the balance

In this Xpeditions lesson, students read an article about the conflicts between lions and people. They focus on an area of Kenya outside of the national park system that is being managed and studied in an attempt to maintain a healthy lion population. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Kings of the Kalahari

In this Xpeditions lesson, students study the defining characteristics of deserts and apply this knowledge to a study of the Kalahari Desert. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Science and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Investigating central Asia through maps

In this Xpeditions lesson, students use physical, political, and thematic maps to investigate the geography of Central Asia through a scavenger hunt. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Interpreting the evidence

This lesson, the second of a two-part series from Science NetLinks, offers useful information and activities to help students understand how scientists learn about civilizations that have disappeared. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Science and Social Studies)

Provided by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Interpreting population statistics

Students are introduced to population statistics such as birth, death, and literacy rates. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–7 Mathematics and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Geography matters in history

Students consider the ways in which historical events and processes have been affected by geography. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic

Geography and your dream job

Introduces students to the five themes of geography. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Geographic