Indiana Social Studies S.7.4

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Social Institutions

The Standard

Conduct research and analysis on an issue associated with social structure or social institutions.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Choose an issue tied to an institution, such as school start times. Find reliable sources, compare viewpoints, and explain how a policy affects different groups.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can ask a focused question and support an answer with evidence from at least two sources. They can explain whose experience is missing from those sources.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat one person's experience as proof that a policy works for everyone. They may repeat a source's claim without checking its evidence or consider only students who have easy access to school.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Using the sources you found on school start times, make one claim about who benefits or faces a barrier. Cite two pieces of evidence and name one group your sources leave out.

Lesson moves

Give groups printed bell schedules, transit timetables, and sample job shifts; have them mark which students could reach school and work on time.
Ask pairs, 'Should our school start later?' Have them find a CDC page and a district schedule, then write a five-sentence answer.
Play source match: teams pair claims about bell times, sleep needs, and student routines with a district schedule, CDC page, or interview.
Have students look up their district's bell schedule and draft one question for a school board member about its effects on working students.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to S.7.4, 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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