Indiana Social Studies 4.G.5

Social Studies4th GradeGeography

The Standard

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

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students locate Indiana’s wetlands, rivers, and southern hills on a map. They explain how these features made settlement harder and how flooding or steep land can affect work and transportation today.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can point to a physical feature and name a problem it caused for settlers. They can also give a present-day example, such as a flooded road delaying deliveries.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume Indiana is flat everywhere or that settlers could travel easily along any river. They may also think draining a wetland ended all flood problems.
How to Assess It: On an exit ticket, show a map marking the Ohio River and southern hills. Ask students to name one challenge each could cause for settlers or businesses.

Lesson moves

Give pairs an Indiana relief map and yarn; have them trace a road through southern hills and mark where building it would be difficult.
Ask students to write: How could an Ohio River flood affect a settler’s farm and a store today?
Give groups feature cards labeled wetlands, rivers, and hills; have them match each to a settler problem and a present-day cost.
Compare a Brown County road map with a relief map; have students circle road bends near steep hills and explain the route.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.G.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.