Indiana Social Studies WG.5.4

Social StudiesGrades 9–12Revolutions, Nationalism, and Imperial Power: 1500 CE to 1900 CE

The Standard

Identify patterns of world resource distribution and utilization, and explain the impacts of using renewable and nonrenewable resources.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Read maps to find where coal and timber forests occur and where people use them. Tell which resources can be replaced within a human lifetime. Explain how mining and logging affected work, trade, and the environment from 1500 to 1900.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can use a map to show that British factories used nearby coal and timber shipped from Canada. They explain that coal cannot regrow, while forests can regrow if cutting does not outpace growth. They connect burning coal to smoke and heavy logging to forest loss.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think forests cannot run out because trees grow back. They may think coal renews because new mines open. They may assume a place with a resource uses it locally rather than exporting it.
How to Assess It: Hand out a map showing British coalfields, Canadian forests, British factories, and a timber route to Britain. Ask students where each resource is found and used, which can regrow, and one effect of using each.

Lesson moves

Give pairs coal and forest maps; have them shade British coalfields and Canadian forests on a blank map and draw the timber route.
Ask, "Could a logged forest always recover?" Have students compare tree growth with cutting rates, then explain why coal is different.
Run a card match with British coal, Canadian timber, and Southern cotton; students pair each with a use, replacement rate, and impact.
Show a local utility's fuel-mix chart and a resource map; students trace one fuel to its source and compare it with 1800s coal.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to WG.5.4, 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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