Indiana Social Studies USH.4.4
The Standard
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the first and second New Deal, as well as the short- and long-term impacts.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Students are expected to trace and analyze chronological periods and examine the significant themes and concepts in U.S. History. Students develop historical thinking and research skills using primary and secondary sources to explore topical issues to understand the cause for changes in the nation over time.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Compare programs from the first and second New Deal. Use examples to explain who got help, who was left out, and which effects lasted.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students place the CCC in the first New Deal and Social Security in the second. They explain that CCC jobs brought quick relief, while Social Security created lasting retirement benefits but initially excluded farm and domestic workers. They recognize that New Deal programs did not end the Depression.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may lump both New Deals together or think Social Security retirement checks began in 1935. Some assume every worker was covered or that New Deal programs ended the Depression.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, compare the CCC and Social Security. Name one immediate CCC benefit, one lasting Social Security benefit, and one group Social Security initially excluded.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a CCC recruitment poster and a Social Security Act excerpt; have them mark who qualified and when help would arrive.
Ask: Which helped people sooner, the CCC or Social Security? Write a claim using one detail from each program.
Make cards for the CCC, AAA, WPA, and Social Security; teams sort them by New Deal phase and name one benefit and limit.
Show a sample pay stub with Social Security tax and a photo of Brown County State Park; students identify two New Deal legacies.
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Printable USH.4.4 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- GE.2.3
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various economic systems.
- USH.4.3
Analyze the causes of the Great Depression and its social, cultural, political, and economic impacts on all Americans.
- USH.6.2
Analyze key economic, cultural, political, and social changes in post-World War II American life.
- IS.1.21
Explain the significance of the expansion of federal power during the New Deal Era in the areas of agriculture, money and banking, industry, labor, social welfa...
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