Indiana Social Studies 4.G.6
The Standard
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.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find rivers, roads, rail lines, and highways on an Indiana map. They explain how these routes helped explorers and settlers travel, moved goods, and connected Indiana to other states.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can show where the Ohio River and National Road run and explain why towns grew near them. They can trace I-70 through Indiana and explain how it connects states east and west.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think early settlers traveled on highways rather than rivers and early roads. They may also overlook how routes helped towns grow by bringing in supplies and carrying goods to market.
How to Assess It
- On an Indiana map showing the Ohio River, National Road, and I-70, have students circle two routes from different time periods. Ask them to write how each helped people travel or trade.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On a printed Indiana map, lay blue yarn along the Ohio and Wabash rivers and paper strips along the National Road; mark nearby towns.
Ask, 'Why might a family in 1820 settle near the Ohio River?' Have partners give two reasons tied to travel or supplies.
Give pairs cards showing a canoe, wagon, train, and truck; have them match each vehicle to a route on an Indiana map.
On a highway map, trace I-70 from Illinois through Indianapolis to Ohio; list two things that could travel that route today.
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Printable 4.G.6 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- IS.1.4
Explain the importance of the Revolutionary War and other key events and people that influenced the development of Indiana as a state.
- 4.G.5
Identify the challenges in the physical landscape of Indiana to early settlers and modern day economic development.
- IS.3.5
Explain the importance of major transportation routes, including rivers, in the exploration, settlement and growth of Indiana and in the state’s location within...
- 4.H.3
Explain the importance of the Revolutionary War and other key events and people that impacted the development of Indiana.
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