Indiana Social Studies S.10.5

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Deviance and Social Control

The Standard

Examine labeling theory from a symbolic interactionist perspective.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain how people give meaning to an action through their reactions to it. They trace how a label, such as “troublemaker,” can affect how others treat a person and how that person sees themself.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given a classroom incident, a student can identify who applies a label and how others might respond. They can explain a possible next choice for the labeled person without claiming that the label makes that choice certain.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the action itself determines the label, rather than the way others interpret it. They may also assume a negative label always leads to more rule breaking.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Two students doodle during class. One is called creative, the other disruptive. Explain how each label might change a teacher’s response and each student’s next choice.

Lesson moves

Give pairs identical classroom incident cards but different teacher response cards; have them arrange possible peer reactions and student choices.
Ask students to write: How might calling someone a troublemaker after one late arrival change later interactions?
Play a card match with action, label, response, and possible next choice cards; have teams explain one sequence.
Read your school’s tardy policy and discuss how calling a student unreliable might affect the next time they arrive late.

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