Indiana Social Studies 8.C.3
The Standard
Compare and contrast the different functions of federal and state government within the federal system by analyzing the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read short passages from the U.S. and Indiana constitutions and connect them to government jobs. They explain which jobs belong mainly to the federal government, which belong mainly to Indiana, and which both can do.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can point to the U.S. Constitution to explain who establishes post offices and the Indiana Constitution to explain who provides public schools. They can use both documents to show why each government can collect taxes.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think federal officials run Indiana public schools or that only one level of government can collect taxes. They may also think states can ignore any federal law under the Tenth Amendment.
How to Assess It
- Give students excerpts from U.S. Article I, Section 8 and Indiana Articles 8 and 10. Ask them to label post offices, public schools, and taxes as federal, state, or both, then cite a clause for each answer.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Pairs sort printed constitution clauses and job cards for post offices, schools, and taxes into federal, Indiana, or both.
Ask, 'Who should set Indiana graduation requirements, Congress or the General Assembly?' Have students defend their answer with a clause from each constitution.
Play clause match: display a government job, then have teams raise a U.S. or Indiana clause card and explain their choice.
Compare an Indiana school funding notice with a USPS envelope; students name the responsible government and point to a matching clause.
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