Indiana Social Studies 4.E.2

Social Studies4th GradeEconomics

The Standard

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

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain productivity as how much a worker makes or harvests in a set time. They give examples of how machines have changed work on Indiana farms and in factories over the past century.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can compare how much corn two workers harvest in one hour and say who is more productive. They can explain how a combine helps an Indiana farmworker harvest more corn per hour than older tools did.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a bigger harvest always means higher productivity, even if more workers were needed. They may also think a combine grows more corn, rather than helping workers harvest it faster.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: In 1926, one Indiana farmworker harvested 8 baskets of corn in an hour. Today, one worker uses a combine to harvest 80 baskets in an hour. Who is more productive, and why?

Lesson moves

Have pairs move dry beans into cups for 30 seconds, first with a spoon, then a scoop, and count beans moved each time.
Ask students to write how a combine changes the amount of corn one Indiana worker can harvest in an hour.
Give teams cards with factory worker counts and cars made in one hour; have them calculate cars per worker and rank the cards.
Show a photo of an Indiana cornfield and a bag of cornmeal; ask how faster harvesting could affect the corn reaching stores.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.E.2, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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