Indiana Social Studies IS.5.6

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Individuals, Society, and Culture

The Standard

Examine the educational opportunities available for all Hoosier students throughout history.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Trace how educational opportunities changed for Indiana students over time. Compare who could attend school, who faced barriers, and how laws affected access.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can put Indiana's 1851 free school provision, 1869 separate school law, and 1949 desegregation law in order. They can explain why a legal right to attend did not always mean equal schooling.
Common Misconceptions: Students may assume free public schools served everyone on equal terms. They may also think the 1949 law ended segregation overnight or that students with disabilities always had access to school.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Using the 1851, 1869, and 1949 policy cards, name one change in access and one reason equal schooling might lag behind the law.

Lesson moves

Give pairs cards for the 1851, 1869, and 1949 Indiana policies and 1975 federal disability protections; sort them by date and name each access barrier.
Ask students to write: Why might a law allowing students into a school fail to give them the same education?
Play a claim check game: students match four claims about school access to evidence on the dated policy cards.
On a county map, mark a rural home and the nearest high school, then discuss how travel could affect attendance.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to IS.5.6, 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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