Indiana Social Studies 5.C.4
The Standard
Describe the primary and general election processes for local, state, and federal offices, including those used to select congressional and presidential office holders.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how primaries narrow the field and how general elections decide local, state, and congressional races. They explain how presidential primaries lead to nominees and how the Electoral College selects the president after the general election.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can label mayor, governor, House, and Senate races by level of government. They can put a primary and general election in order, then explain that voters elect members of Congress while electors formally choose the president.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think winning a primary means winning the office. They may think the Electoral College chooses members of Congress or that the nationwide popular vote alone decides the president. Some assume every local race has a party primary.
How to Assess It
- Give students an exit ticket listing mayor, governor, House member, senator, and president. Ask them to label each level, say what a primary decides, and explain how congressional and presidential winners are selected.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs race cards for mayor, governor, House, senator, and president, plus primary, general, and elector cards to build accurate timelines.
Ask: Why can a presidential candidate win more votes nationwide but lose the election, while a House candidate is elected by district voters?
Run a mock governor primary with two candidates per party, then a general election; students record what each vote decided.
Print a county election office's sample ballot; students highlight listed local, state, and federal offices and note which races are missing.
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Related Standards
- 3.C.2
Identify and explain the duties of and selection process for local and state government officials who make, implement, and enforce laws.
- 8.C.6
Explain ways that citizens can participate in the election process (e.g., political parties, campaigns, and elections) at the federal, state, and local levels.
- 4.C.4
Identify major state offices, the duties and powers associated with them, and how they are chosen, such as by election or appointment.
- USG.3.8
Explain the electoral process in terms of election laws and election systems on the national, state, and local level.
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