2012—End of the World?

On 12.21.12, the ancient Mayan "Long Count" calendar ends. Some have concluded this means that the earth will be struck by a mysterious Planet X, now hurtling through the cosmos toward us. Or, the magnetic poles will reverse — perhaps caused by a "planetary alignment," with Earth suddenly at the center of the Milky Way in 2012 — causing untold destruction as the earth's crust ruptures, seas swamp our coastlines, volcanoes erupt and continental fault lines shatter.

The new Hollywood mega-special effects movie, 2012, has fueled this new interest and speculation on this theme of the end of the world. The last hysteria about this was prior to the end of the millennium in 1999. Despite being far-fetched in its scientific premise, there are nearly 200 books about it and millions of Google hits for "end of the world 2012."

There have been dozens of other predictions and prophecies of the apocalypse from both Biblical and occultist sources over the centuries: Nostradamus predictions and the Evangelical "Rapture" prophecy are both examples.

Assign students to open the new ProQuest model BookCart learning activity, "2012—End of the World?"

This BookCart contains all the information that a student will need to complete a report or presentation of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources. Students will also see a list of essential questions for critical thinking that they should address in their reports. Because students will have all the directions, essential questions, and teacher-selected learning resources they need in ONE place, you'll save valuable classroom time and get higher quality reports from students.

Teachers or librarians can copy and adapt this BookCart model and hundreds of other ProQuest models (list) in the ProQuest Carts collection:

• Logon to the eLibrary Teacher Edition.
• Click the BOOKCART ADMIN link at the top of the Teacher Edition.
• Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
• Type "2012—End of the World?" in the Search box to locate it quickly.
• Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
• Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.

This BookCart already includes all the information that a student needs to complete the assignment. However, teachers can edit this information to tailor it for their students.

• Click the new BookCart TITLE—it will have the prefix "COPY OF."
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in as the AUTHOR.
• Type your initials (required filler) in the EMAIL box (email address needed for quiz only).
• Optional: Edit the existing STUDENT DIRECTIONS in the DESCRIPTION box to spell out your assignment requirements.
• Scroll down and click SAVE.
• Click MY LOCAL CARTS tab.
• Note: Students will be able to open this BookCart by clicking the BookCart tab on the search page.

Assign students to write a report of at least 150 words (or a PowerPoint of at least seven slides) that cites at least three resources.

Select the Advanced Search > type "Apocalypse" in the Search box > type "apocalypse OR end OR world" in the Title box.

Students should address at least three of the following essential questions for critical thinking (You can create or substitute others):

• What are some of the prophecies about when the world will end and what is their source?
  
  
• How does the Mayan calendar support the end of the world theory?
  
  
• How do scientists counter these prophecies of the apocalypse?
  
  
• What do you believe about the current 2012 theory and why?

Use our custom ProQuest models for written or PowerPoint reports written and PowerPoint-style reports.