Indiana Social Studies WG.4.2

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Human Systems

The Standard

Develop maps of human migration and settlement patterns at different times in history and compare them to the present.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Characteristics, Distribution, and Migration of Human Populations

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students make maps showing where people moved from and where they settled in two past periods and today. They label dates, places, and symbols, then compare the maps.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student draws accurate movement arrows and marks settlement cities on all three maps. They use the maps to explain one change in where people moved and one change in where they settled.
Common Misconceptions: Students may draw arrows but leave out settlement sites. They may mistake an arrow for the exact path people took or assume everyone settled in the first city they reached.
How to Assess It: Give students a blank map and three cards: 1840s Ireland to New York, 1940s Mississippi to Chicago, and 2020s Mexico to Chicago. Have them mark movement arrows and settlement cities, then name one change.

Lesson moves

Give pairs a blank Atlantic-region map and three dated movement cards; have them place yarn for movement and stickers for settlement cities.
Ask, 'How do the origins and settlement cities differ on the 1840s, 1940s, and present-day maps?'
Run a card sort where students match dated origin cards with movement arrows and settlement dots on three maps.
Print your county's Census QuickFacts foreign-born figure; ask whether it tells where residents came from or which path they took.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to WG.4.2, 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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