Indiana Social Studies WH.2.7
The Standard
Trace the developments and achievements of the Qin and Han Dynasties.
2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students put Qin unification and standardized writing and weights before Han expansion, trade, and paper making. They explain what changed between the dynasties and how those changes affected people.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can place Qin unification before Han Silk Road trade on a timeline. They can explain that Han rulers kept parts of Qin government while adopting Confucian ideas and expanding trade.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Qin rulers invented writing rather than standardizing scripts already in use. They may put Silk Road trade under the Qin or assume Han rulers replaced every Qin policy.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Draw a two-stop Qin-to-Han timeline. Place standardized writing and Silk Road trade at the correct stops, then explain one effect of each.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank map and two reference maps; have them shade Qin territory, add Han western expansion, and draw a Silk Road route.
Ask students to write two sentences answering: How might a Han merchant benefit from the Qin's standardized weights and writing?
Play a card match: Qin script to shared records, Qin roads to troop movement, Han paper to cheaper writing, and Silk Road trade to new goods.
Bring two food packages with different weights; ask how standard measures help shoppers today and how they helped traders under the Qin.
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Printable WH.2.7 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- WH.1.4
Examine the development and characteristics of early empires, such as Assyria, Persia, Israel, Minoan, and Zhou.
- 7.H.8
Describe the dynastic cycle and the cultural and technological contributions of major Chinese dynasties (Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Ming).
- WH.3.9
Examine the role of the Tang and Song Chinese dynasties in establishing political, social, economic, and cultural trends in China.
- WH.2.3
Trace the changes that culminated in the end of the Republic and the formation of the Roman Empire.
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