Indiana Social Studies WG.4.17
The Standard
Analyze the changing functions of cities over time.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Human Settlement
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare what cities did at different times, such as making goods, moving freight, or providing services. They use dated maps, photos, or job figures to explain what changed and why.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can show how Pittsburgh shifted from steel production toward health care and education. They cite evidence from two time periods and explain one reason for the shift.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume every city shifts from factories to offices. They may take one closed mill as proof that all manufacturing ended, or mistake population growth for a change in a city's role.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: In 1950, 55% of Riverton's jobs were in factories. In 2020, 50% were in health care. Name the shift and give one possible cause.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs old and current Pittsburgh maps; have them mark steel mills and hospitals, then label the functions shown on each map.
Ask students: What changed in Pittsburgh's jobs, and why? Have them cite one fact from each of two dated job charts.
Play a matching game with dated city photos and function cards, such as steelmaking and hospital services; partners defend each match.
Show photos of Pittsburgh's Bakery Square, once a cookie factory; students identify its former production role and current office and shopping roles.
Free download
Printable WG.4.17 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to WG.4.17, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- 8.G.4
Using maps, identify changes influenced by growth, economic development, and human migration in the United States.
- GHW.5.2
Describe, using a variety of texts (writing, maps, timelines, and/or other graphic representations), the worldwide trend toward urbanization and the changing fu...
- GHW.5.1
Ask and answer geographic and historic questions about the origin and growth of towns, cities, and metropolitan areas in different regions of the world and in d...
- WG.4.16
Explain and provide examples for how the internal structures of cities vary in different regions of the world.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson