Indiana Social Studies IS.1.23
The Standard
Examine the causes and course of World War II, the effects of the war on Indiana’s society and culture, and the consequences of the war on United States involvement in world affairs.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Prosperity, Depression, and World War II
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why the war began and put key events in order. They describe how factory work, rationing, and military service changed life in Indiana. They connect the war to a larger U.S. role abroad.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how German and Japanese expansion led to war. They can explain why Midway and D-Day mattered and use an Indiana shipyard photo to describe changes at home. They can explain why the United States helped form the United Nations.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Pearl Harbor started the entire war, rather than U.S. involvement. Some assume Indiana was unaffected because no battles took place there. Others think the United States stayed out of world affairs after 1945.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Name one cause of the war, one turning point, one wartime change in Indiana, and one postwar U.S. action. Connect two of your answers using the word “because.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs four cards: a 1930s expansion map, Pearl Harbor headline, Evansville shipyard photo, and UN charter excerpt; sort by cause, event, local impact, aftermath.
Ask: How did Evansville shipyard jobs change daily life for Indiana families, and what might have changed when the war ended?
Run a timeline relay: teams order Germany's invasion of Poland, Pearl Harbor, Midway, D-Day, and Japan's surrender, then explain two turning points.
Compare a current photo of Evansville's LST-325 museum ship with a wartime shipyard photo; write one sentence about Indiana's wartime legacy.
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Printable IS.1.23 Worksheet
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