Indiana Social Studies IS.4.7
The Standard
Examine the rise and decline of industrial cities in Indiana.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how factory jobs helped Indiana cities grow, then explain why some cities lost jobs and residents. They use dates, population figures, and plant histories to compare places such as Gary and South Bend.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how Gary grew around steel and how South Bend grew around auto manufacturing. They can use evidence to explain later population loss without claiming that all factories closed.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Gary stopped making steel when its population fell. They may also assume every city lost jobs for the same reason, rather than distinguishing plant closures from changes such as automation.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Gary's population fell from about 178,000 in 1960 to 69,000 in 2020, though steelmaking continued. Explain why workers first moved there and give one reason residents later left.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs dated Gary and South Bend factory and population cards; have them build two timelines and mark turning points.
Ask students to write: Why could Gary lose residents while its steel mill kept operating? Use one population figure and one job fact.
Run a cause-and-effect card match using rail access, factory jobs, automation, plant closure, and population loss; partners explain each match.
Use an online map of Gary to trace rail lines, lake access, and the steel mill; ask why builders chose that site.
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Printable IS.4.7 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- IS.4.1
Describe the economic developments in Indiana that helped transform the U.S. into a major industrial power.
- 4.H.7
Give examples of Indiana's increasing agricultural, industrial, political, and business development in the nineteenth century.
- IS.5.9
Identify and examine the impact of Indiana on the entertainment industry.
- IS.1.8
Describe the economic developments that transformed Indiana into a major industrial power and the factors necessary for industrialization.
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