Indiana Social Studies 5.H.17
The Standard
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.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify early American artists, writers, and business owners. They describe what each made or sold and how their work affected people's lives. They also explain the uses and traditions behind handmade objects.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can explain how Gilbert Stuart's portraits shaped public images, Phillis Wheatley's poems reached readers, and John Jacob Astor's fur business connected markets. They can describe how Haudenosaunee basket makers passed on skills through their work.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume Wheatley had the same freedom to publish as white writers or that Astor invented fur trading. They may think Indigenous basket weaving began with the United States, though it is much older.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Make a two-column chart for Stuart, Wheatley, Astor, and Haudenosaunee basket makers. Write what each made or traded and how people used it.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards showing Stuart's portrait, a Wheatley poem, an Astor trade map, and a Haudenosaunee basket; sort them by contribution.
Ask students to write: How did Wheatley's poems and Stuart's portraits show different people and ideas to readers?
Play a card match with each person's name, their work, and its effect on people's lives.
Show a local business ad and a map of Astor's trading posts; have students compare how each business reached customers.
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Printable 5.H.17 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- IS.1.38
Research and describe the contributions of important Indiana artists and writers to the state and national cultural landscapes.
- USH.4.1
Identify new cultural and technological movements of the 1920s, and explain their impacts on Americans.
- 4.H.15
Research and describe the contributions of important Indiana artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and public figures to the state’s culture.
- 5.H.12
Identify contributions of women and minorities during the American Revolution.
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