Indiana Social Studies 8.G.4

Social Studies8th GradeGeography

The Standard

Using maps, identify changes influenced by growth, economic development, and human migration in the United States.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students compare U.S. maps from different years to find where cities and populations grew or shifted. They use map clues about jobs and migration to explain those changes.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can identify a growing region on two dated maps and describe the change. They can cite job locations and migration routes as evidence for a likely explanation, without claiming the maps prove why everyone moved.
Common Misconceptions: Students may mistake a bigger population symbol for a larger land area. They may call any population increase migration, even though births also add people. A nearby job site does not prove why people moved.
How to Assess It: Show 1970 and current Phoenix population maps beside a map with job centers and migration arrows. Ask: Which area grew, and what two map clues suggest why?

Lesson moves

Place tracing paper over 1970 and current Phoenix maps; shade new neighborhoods, then add job locations and arrows from a migration map.
Ask: Did new jobs draw people to Phoenix, or did a larger population bring more jobs? Cite one map clue for each possibility.
Give pairs three claims about Sun Belt growth; have them sort each as supported, unsupported, or contradicted using dated population maps.
Compare an older county street map with Google Maps; mark new housing near a major employer and check county population figures.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 8.G.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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

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