Indiana K–6 social studies standards

Observe and describe similarities and differences between children's lives and families today and those from long ago using familiar everyday objects.

Recognize and explain the ways people, heritage, and events are remembered and celebrated in families, schools, and communities. (E)

Identify events and place events in a sequence. (E)

Explain how calendars are used to represent the days of the week and months of the year.

Give examples of classroom and school rules, and explain the importance of following these rules to ensure order and safety. (E)

Give examples of how to be a responsible member of society both in person and in digital spaces.

Use words related to location, direction, and distance, including here/there, over/under, left/right, above/below, forward/backward, and between. (E)

Locate and describe places in the school and community using words such as here/there, over/under, left/right, above/below, forward/backward, and between.

Identify and describe the location of the school and explain why addresses help us find places. 5

Identify maps and globes as tools that represent the Earth and identify and describe differences between land and water.

Identify similarities and differences in family traditions, homes, and celebrations.

Explain that people work to earn money to buy the things they want and need.

Identify and describe different kinds of jobs that people do and the tools or equipment used in these jobs. (E)

Explain why people in a community volunteer or have different jobs. 6

Identify the impact the past has on the present way of life in the community using primary sources.

Identify songs and symbols that represent the American experience and discuss their origins.

Identify local people from the past who have demonstrated good citizenship.

Identify people and events observed in national celebrations and holidays. (E)

Develop a simple timeline of important events in the student’s life. (E)

Use the terms past and present; yesterday, today, and tomorrow; and next week and last week to sequentially order events that have occurred in the school.

Explain how clocks and calendars are used to measure time.

Distinguish between historical fact and fiction in American folktales and legends that are part of American culture.

Identify rights that people have and the responsibilities that accompany these rights. (E)

Define and give examples of rules and laws in the school and the community, and explain the benefits of these rules and laws.

Describe ways that individual actions can contribute to the common good of the classroom or community.

Define citizen and describe the characteristics of good citizenship. (E)

Repeat the Pledge of Allegiance and understand that it is a promise to be loyal to the United States. 5

Identify the cardinal directions (i.e., north, south, east, and west) on maps and globes and at the classroom or school. (E)

Identify and describe continents, hemispheres, oceans, cities, and roads on maps and globes. (E)

Identify and describe the relative locations of places in the school setting.

Identify and describe physical features and man-made features of the local community, including home, school, and neighborhood.

Compare cultural similarities and differences of various ethnic and cultural groups found in Indiana, such as family traditions and customs and traditional clothing and food.

Identify goods that people use. (E)

Identify services that people provide for others. (E)

Explain that people must make choices about goods and services because resources are limited in relation to people’s wants (e.g., scarcity). 6

Identify when the local community was established, and identify its founders and early settlers. (E)

Identify the impact the past has on the present way of life in the community using primary sources.

Identify actions and individuals who had a positive impact on the local community.

Identify and describe community celebrations, symbols, and traditions, and explain why they are important.

Develop a timeline of important events in the history of the school and/or school community. (E)

Create and maintain a calendar of important school days, holidays, and community events.

Read about and summarize historical community events using a variety of resources (e.g., the library, digital media, print media). (E)

Explain that the United States government is founded on the belief of equal rights for its citizens. (E)

Explain why it is important for a community to have a responsible government. (E)

Describe how people of different ages, cultural backgrounds, and traditions contribute to the community and how all citizens can respect these differences. (E)

Identify people who are good citizens and describe the character traits that make them admirable. 5

Discuss and explain the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance and explore ways citizens affirm their citizenship, including voting, volunteering, or participating in community activities.

Use a compass to identify cardinal and intermediate directions and locate places on maps and in the classroom, school, and community.

Locate the equator, the poles, continents, and hemispheres on a world map and on a globe; identify the local community, city, Indiana, the United States, and North America on a world map and on a globe. (E)

Compare neighborhoods in the local community or region, and explain how physical features of the community affect people living there. (E)

Compare neighborhoods in the local community or region with those in other parts of the world.

On a map, identify physical features of the local community, and how seasons may or may not impact those features.

Identify and describe cultural or man-made features on a map using map symbols.

Explain the price of and the product received from goods and services and the impact on consumers. (E)

Research goods and services produced in the local community, and describe how people can be both producers and consumers.

Define opportunity cost and explain that because resources are limited in relation to people’s wants (e.g., scarcity), people must make choices as to how to use resources. (E)

Explain why people trade for goods and services, and explain how money makes trade easier.

Explain the concept of savings and why this is important for individuals and for the economy. 6

Identify and describe how Native Americans impacted the development of local and regional communities. (E)

Explain why and how the local community was established, and identify its founders and early settlers.

Describe the role of the local community and other communities in the development of the state’s regions.

Give examples of people, events, and developments that brought important changes to your community and the region where your community is located. (E)

Create simple timelines that identify important events in various regions of the state.

Use a variety of resources to gather information about your region’s communities and identify factors that make the region’s culture unique.

Distinguish between fact and fiction in historical accounts by comparing documentary sources on historical figures and events with fictional characters and events in stories. (E)

Define immigration and explain how it contributed to the early development and cultural structures of communities. (E)

Discuss the reasons governments are needed and identify specific goods and services that governments provide. (E)

Identify and explain the duties of and selection process for local and state government officials who make, implement, and enforce laws.

Explain that the United States has three levels of government (i.e., local, state, and federal), and that each level has special duties and responsibilities. (E) 5

Explain the importance of being a responsible citizen of your community, state, and nation. Identify people in your community and state who exhibit the characteristics of good citizenship.

Explain the role citizens have in making decisions and rules within the community, state, and nation, such as participating in local and regional activities, voting in elections, running for office, and voicing opinions in a positive way. (E)

Use labels and symbols to locate and identify physical and political features on maps and globes.

Label a map of the Midwest, identifying states, major rivers, lakes, and the Great Lakes. (E)

Identify the local and regional communities, including Indiana and other Midwestern states, on maps using simple grid systems. (E)

Identify the northern, southern, eastern, and western hemispheres; cardinal and intermediate directions; and determine the direction and distance from one place to another on a variety of maps and globes. (E)

Explain that regions are areas that have similar physical and cultural characteristics. Identify Indiana and the local community as part of a specific region.

Compare and contrast the physical characteristics of Indiana to neighboring states using words, illustrations, maps, photographs, and other resources.

Describe the difference in how Native Americans and early settlers of Indiana adapted to and modified their environment to meet their needs.

Identify and describe how human activities and natural systems affect the local environment.

Give examples from the local community that illustrate scarcity of resources and explain how scarcity requires people to make choices and give up other options (i.e., opportunity cost). 6

Give examples of goods and services provided by local business and industry. (E)

Give examples of trade in the local community, and explain how trade benefits both parties.

Define interdependence, and give examples of how people in the local community depend on each other for goods and services.

List the characteristics of money, and explain how money makes trade and the purchase of goods easier. (E)

Explain that prices are influenced by interactions between buyers and sellers in markets. (E)

Illustrate how people compare benefits and costs when making choices and decisions as consumers and producers.

Identify different ways people save their income, and explain advantages and disadvantages of each. 7

Identify and compare the major early cultures that lived in the region of Indiana before the arrival of the Europeans and before Indiana became a state. (E)

Identify and describe historic Native American groups that lived in Indiana at the time of early European exploration, including ways these groups adapted to and interacted with the physical environment. (E)

Explain the importance of the Revolutionary War and other key events and people that impacted the development of Indiana. (E)

Summarize and explain the significance of key documents in Indiana’s development from a United States territory to statehood.

Explain the roles of various individuals, groups, and movements in the social conflicts leading to the Civil War. (E)

Summarize the impact of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency on Indiana, and describe the participation of Indiana citizens in the Civil War. (E)

Give examples of Indiana’s increasing agricultural, industrial, political, and business development in the nineteenth century.

Describe the participation of Indiana citizens in World War I and World War II.

Identify and describe important events and movements that changed life in Indiana in the early twentieth century.

Describe the impact of immigration on the developments of agriculture, industry, mining, and transportation in Indiana.

Identify and describe important events and movements that changed life in Indiana from the mid-twentieth century to the present.

Research Indiana’s modern growth, emphasizing manufacturing, new technologies, transportation, and global connections. 5

Create and interpret timelines that show relationships among people, events, and movements in the history of Indiana.

Construct a brief narrative about an event in Indiana history using primary and secondary sources.

Research and describe the contributions of important Indiana artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and public figures to the state’s culture.

Explain the major purposes of Indiana’s Constitution as stated in the Preamble. (E)

Describe individual rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion, which people have under Article I of Indiana’s Constitution. (E)

Identify and explain the major responsibilities of the legislative (Article 4), executive (Article 5), and judicial branches (Article 7) of state government as written in the Indiana Constitution. (E)

Identify major state offices, the duties and powers associated with them, and how they are chosen, such as by election or appointment.

Give examples of how citizens can participate in their state government and explain the right and responsibility of voting.

Estimate distances between two places on a map when referring to relative locations.

Locate Indiana on a map as one of the 50 United States. Identify and describe the location of the state capital, major cities, and rivers in Indiana.

Map and describe the physical regions of Indiana and identify major natural resources and agricultural/crop regions. (E)

Explain how glaciers shaped Indiana’s landscape and environment. (E)

Identify the challenges in the physical landscape of Indiana to early settlers and modern day economic development. 6

Explain the importance of major transportation routes in the exploration, settlement, and growth of Indiana and in the state’s location as a crossroad of America. (E)

Identify migration patterns into and out of the state and explain how they contributed to the early development and cultural structures of communities. (E)

Identify historical perspectives about Native Americans, Africans, early settlers, and other immigrant groups.

Give examples of the kinds of goods produced and services provided in Indiana in different historical periods.

Define productivity, and provide examples of how productivity has changed in Indiana during the past century. (E)

Explain that prices change as a result of changes in supply and demand for specific products.

List the functions of money, and compare and contrast things that have been used as money in the past in Indiana, the United States, and the world. 7

Identify and describe early cultures and settlements that existed in North America prior to contact with Europeans. (E)

Examine accounts of early European explorations of North America, including major land and water routes, reasons for exploration, and impacts of the exploration. (E)

Compare and contrast historic Native American groups of the West, Southwest, Northwest, Arctic and sub-Arctic, Great Plains, and Eastern Woodlands regions at the beginning of European exploration in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. (E)

Locate the early Spanish, French, and British settlements on a map, and compare the origins, physical structure, and social structure of these settlements.

Compare and contrast the religious, political, and economic reasons for the colonization of the Americas by Europe. (E)

Identify and explain instances of both cooperation and conflict that existed between Native Americans and colonists.

Identify the early founders of colonial settlements, and describe early colonial resistance to British rule.

Explain how the political, religious, and economic ideas brought about the American Revolution.

Analyze the causes of the American Revolution as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. (E)

Identify major British and American leaders of the American Revolutionary War and describe their significance in key events of the war. (E)

Describe the contributions of France, other nations, and individuals to the outcome of the American Revolution. (E)

Identify contributions of women and minorities during the American Revolution. 5

Explain consequences of the American Revolution, including the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, changes in trade relationships, and the achievement of independence by the United States.

Explain why the United States Constitution was created in 1787 and how it established a stronger union among the original 13 states by making it the supreme law of the land. Identify people who were involved in its development. (E)

Describe the origins and drafting of the Bill of Rights that was ratified in 1791. (E)

Explain why the first American political parties developed, and analyze the impact political parties had on early presidential elections.

Identify and describe the contributions of important early American artists, writers, and entrepreneurs and traditional arts and crafts to the new nation’s cultural landscape.

Understand the principles and purposes of government as stated in the Preamble to the United States Constitution.

Identify and explain ideas about limited government, the rule of law, and individual rights in key colonial era documents. (E)

Identify and explain key ideas about government as noted in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Northwest Ordinance, United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. (E)

Describe the primary and general election processes for local, state, and federal offices, including those used to select congressional and presidential office holders.

Identify the three branches of the United States government, and explain the functions of each. (E)

Describe group and individual actions that illustrate civic virtues, such as civility, cooperation, respect, and responsible participation.

Examine ways by which citizens may effectively voice opinions, monitor government, and bring about change in government, including voting and participation in the election process.

Use a variety of information resources to identify and evaluate issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights, and the common good. 6

Illustrate how lines of latitude and longitude are measured in degrees of a circle. Locate where these lines intersect on a map or globe and describe the precise location using terms of degrees north or south of the equator and east or west of the Prime Meridian. (E)

Use maps and globes to locate states, capitals, major cities, major rivers, the Great Lakes, and mountain ranges in the United States. (E)

Locate the continental divide, the major drainage basins/watersheds, major sources of freshwater in the United States, and identify their impact on local and regional communities.

Use maps to describe the characteristics of climate regions of the United States.

Identify the major manufacturing and agricultural regions in colonial America, and summarize the ways that agriculture and manufacturing changed between 1600 and 1800. (E)

Describe the ways Native Americans, Africans, immigrant groups, and colonists adapted to variations in the physical environment.

Describe and analyze how specific physical features influenced historical events.

Identify and locate the 13 British colonies by region (i.e., New England, Middle, Southern). (E)

Describe the political and social organization of each region (i.e., New England, Middle, Southern) that comprised the 13 British colonies.

Explain the economic organization of each region (i.e., New England, Middle, Southern) that comprised the 13 British colonies.

Describe the economic activities within and among Native American cultures prior to contact with Europeans. Examine the economic incentives that helped motivate European exploration and colonization. (E) 7

Describe the impacts of technological developments and major inventions on business productivity during the early development of the United States. (E)

Explain the benefits of education and training, specialization, and investment in capital resources.

Define types of trade barriers and predict the effect of changes in supply and demand on price. (E)

Explain the purpose and components of a personal budget, and compare factors that influence household saving and spending decisions. 8

Summarize the principles and purposes of government as stated in the Preamble to the United States Constitution. (E)

Identify and explain essential ideas of constitutional government, which include limited government; rule of law; due process of law; separated and shared powers; checks and balances; federalism; popular sovereignty; republicanism; representative government; and individual rights to life, liberty, and property; and freedom of conscience and religion. (E)

Explain the concept of a separation of powers and how and why these powers are distributed, shared, and limited in the constitutional government of the United States. (E)

Describe and give examples of individual rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. (E)

Explain the major purposes of the Indiana Constitution, as stated in the Preamble.

Describe individual rights held under Article I of the Indiana Constitution, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Examine ways that state and federal government affects the everyday lives of people in the United States. (E)

Describe the primary and general election process for local, state, and federal offices, including those used to select congressional and presidential office holders. (E)

Identify the duties of local and state government officials.

Explain that the United States has three levels of government (local, state, and federal), and that each level has special duties and responsibilities.

Identify the three branches of the United States government and explain the functions of each and how they interact through a series of checks and balances. (E)

Identify and explain the major responsibilities of the legislative (Article 4), executive (Article 5), and judicial branches (Article 7) of state government as written in the Indiana Constitution. 5

Explain the role citizens have in making decisions and rules within the community, state, and nation.

Examine ways by which citizens may effectively voice opinions, monitor government, and bring about change in government (e.g., voting, participating in the election process, writing a petition, contacting legislators, attending a local government meeting). (E)

Use a variety of informational resources to identify and evaluate contemporary issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights, and the common good.

Recognize and explain the relationship between the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States. (E)

Explain ways that citizens can participate in the election process (e.g., political parties, campaigns, elections) at the federal, state, and local levels. 6