Fifty States: Indiana – Gather 'Round Homeschool

Uncover a landscape shifting between sandy lakeshore dunes, flat farmland, and thick forests. Indiana Dunes National Park, the University of Notre Dame, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway add some fun during your travels. You’ll learn about the rich history, nature, wildlife, and weather, too. There’s lots to discover about the economy and people of Indiana, so pull on your boots and let's get to work.

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Resources

Access helpful materials, guides, and downloads that support your learning journey with Gather ’Round. Explore our growing library of resources designed to make teaching simple and engaging.

Explore Resources

Resources

Access helpful materials, guides, and downloads that support your learning journey with Gather ’Round. Explore our growing library of resources designed to make teaching simple and engaging.

Explore Resources
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3

Booklist

Meet Indiana

H is for Hoosier: An Indiana Alphabet

by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds

What’s Great About Indiana? (Our Great States)

by Candice Ransom

The Indiana Way: A State History

by James H. Madison

Nature and Weather

Curious Critters Indiana

by David FitzSimmons

Tarsi the Sandhill Crane

by Liz Drewien Thach

Indiana Wildlife Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Guide to Birds, Fish, Mammals, Reptiles, and Amphibians

by Scott Shupe

Industry and Economy

My Family’s Corn Farm

by Katie Olthoff

My Family’s Soybean Farm

by Katie Olthoff

Ruthie’s Gift

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Zorrie

by Laird Hunt

People and Governance

Tecumseh (My Itty-Bitty Bio)

by June Thiele

The Mighty Tecumseh for Kids: Warrior and Peacemaker

by Sarah Michaels

Tecumseh: A Biography

By Amy H. Sturgis

Supplies

Meet Indiana

Teacher's Guide

Hands-on Activity

  • shallow tray or baking sheet
  • sand or flour
  • small straws or a blow-dryer
  • small rulers or sticks

Student Notebook

Science: Reaction Times (Lesson 1, page 2;)

  • a ruler
  • red, green, and yellow sheets of construction paper (1 of each color)
  • tape
  • scissors

Science: Reaction Times (Lesson 1, page 2;)

  • a timer
  • a ruler
  • a volunteer
  • something that plays music or makes noise

Science: Reaction Times (Lesson 1, page 2;)

  • a timer
  • a ruler
  • a volunteer
  • something that plays music or makes noise
  • a room where you can control the light

People and Governance

Student Notebooks

Hands-on Activity

  • cardboard to use as a weaving loom
  • weaving supplies, such as yarn, string, sticks, flowers, etc.

Scope and Sequence

Check out the scope and sequence for this unit.

Waterbottle Decorative Arrow
  • Reaction times
  • Seasons
  • Indianapolis
  • Great Lakes region
  • Moraines
  • Lake Michigan
  • Indiana regions: Great Lakes Plains, Till Plains, Southern Lowlands
  • Ohio River
  • Shipshewana
  • Brown County State Park and Hesitation Point
  • Vocabulary: dune, teem
  • Start working on the unit project banner, including a flag, facts, and favorite place in Indiana
  • Poetry study: "The Frost Is on the Punkin"
  • Late-1600s French settlers
  • First professional baeball game played in Fort Wayne (1871)
  • Concept of rearview mirrors invented (1911)
  • Corps of Discovery assembled in Clarksville
  • Famous poet James Whitcomb Riley
  • State flag and seal
  • "Crossroads of America"
  • Hoosier State
  • Indiana Dunes National Park and Tower
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500)
  • Fun facts
  • Amish and Mennonite communities
  • Poetry study drawing
  • Hebrews 13:8
  • Malachi 3:6
  • James 1:17
  • Psalm 18:2
  • Isaiah 40:8
  • Perennial plants
  • Bioluminescence
  • Entomology
  • Sandhill cranes
  • Bird migrations
  • Bats: behaviors, diet, use of caves
  • Four distinct seasons in Indiana
  • Life cycle of perennial plants
  • Annual plants
  • Canada
  • Upper Midwest
  • Vocabulary: value, forage
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana's symbols
  • Add state symbols to the unit banner
  • Solve riddles about state symbols
  • Uses of Indiana caves throughout history
  • State flower: peony
  • State tree: tulip poplar
  • State bird: northern cardinal
  • State insect: Say's firefly
  • Design your own state symbol
  • Psalm 149:4
  • Matthew 5:16a
  • Use of iron ore and limestone to make steel
  • How popcorn pops
  • Gary
  • Types of roads
  • Washington
  • Massachusetts
  • Vocabulary: core, dense
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana's industry and economy
  • Add fact cards about industries in Indiana to the unit project
  • Steel production begins in Indiana in the early 1900s
  • History of the Interstate Highway System
  • Main industries: farming, steel production, transportation
  • Top state crops: corn and soybeans
  • Foods made from grains
  • Galatians 6:9
  • Weight distribution
  • Heavy vs. light
  • Beech Grove
  • Warsaw
  • Lafayette
  • Prophetstown
  • Vocabulary: humbly, rally
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana
  • Add a spotlight on Tecumseh to the unit project
  • Early-1800s Indiana Territory
  • Tecumseh: his life, achievements, death in 1813
  • Hoosier hospitality
  • Weird laws
  • Create a pretend news report
  • Ways to show kindness, lend a hand, and be welcoming
  • Galatians 6:2
  • Reaction times
  • Indianapolis
  • Great Lakes region
  • Prophetstown
  • Moraines
  • Lake Michigan
  • Indiana regions: Great Lakes Plains, Till Plains, Southern Lowlands
  • Ohio River
  • Chicago
  • Evansville
  • Shipshewana
  • Brown County State Park and Hesitation Point
  • Vocabulary: crossroads, moraine
  • Start working on the unit project banner, including a flag, facts, and favorite place in Indiana
  • Poetry study: "The Frost Is on the Punkin"
  • Write a poem
  • Late-1600s French settlers
  • French and Indian War
  • December 1816: Indiana statehood
  • First professional baseball game played in Fort Wayne (1871)
  • Concept of rearview mirrors invented (1911)
  • Corps of Discovery assembled in Clarksville
  • Famous poet James Whitcomb Riley
  • State flag and seal
  • "Crossroads of America"
  • Hoosier State
  • Indiana Dunes National Park and Tower
  • Time zones: Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500)
  • Fun facts
  • Amish and Mennonite communities
  • Hebrews 13:8
  • Malachi 3:6
  • James 1:17
  • Psalm 18:2
  • Isaiah 40:8
  • Perennial plants
  • Bioluminescence
  • Entomology
  • Sandhill cranes
  • Bird migrations
  • Bats: behaviors, diet, use of caves
  • Hellbender salamander
  • Four distinct seasons in Indiana
  • Effect of geographic features on weather
  • Life cycle of perennial plants
  • Annual plants
  • Canada
  • Upper Midwest
  • Wyandotte Caves
  • Vocabulary: memorable, congregate
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana's symbols
  • Add state symbols to the unit banner
  • Solve riddles about state symbols
  • Uses of Indiana caves throughout history
  • State flower: peony
  • State tree: tulip poplar
  • State bird: northern cardinal
  • State insect: Say's firefly
  • Design your own state symbol
  • Psalm 149:4
  • Matthew 5:16
  • Use of iron ore and limestone to make steel
  • How popcorn pops
  • Gary
  • Elkhart
  • Goshen
  • Washington
  • Massachusetts
  • Houston
  • Texas
  • How the interstates are numbered
  • Vocabulary: economy, mill
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana's industry and economy
  • Add fact cards about industries in Indiana to the unit project
  • Steel production begins in Indiana in the early 1900s
  • History of the Interstate Highway System
  • Main industries: farming, steel production, transportation
  • Top state crops: corn and soybeans
  • RV Capital of the World
  • Second-largest FedEx hub in Indianapolis
  • Cost of living in Indiana
  • Whole grains
  • Health benefits of grains
  • Foods made from grains
  • Galatians 6:9
  • Weight distribution
  • Beech Grove
  • Warsaw
  • Lafayette
  • Prophetstown
  • Vocabulary: practical, nuisance
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana
  • Add a spotlight on Tecumseh to the unit project
  • Early-1800s Indiana Territory
  • Tecumseh: his life, achievements, death in 1813
  • Battle of Tippecanoe
  • War of 1812
  • Hoosier hospitality
  • Cultural differences according to region
  • Indiana sports
  • Governmental structure
  • Weird laws
  • Research and outline a current event in Indiana
  • Ways to show kindness, lend a hand, and be welcoming
  • Galatians 6:2
  • Reaction times
  • Indianapolis
  • Great Lakes region
  • Prophetstown
  • Moraines
  • Lake Michigan
  • Indiana regions: Great Lakes Plains, Till Plains, Southern Lowlands
  • Ohio River
  • Chicago
  • Evansville
  • Shipshewana
  • Brown County State Park and Hesitation Point
  • Vocabulary: confederacy, quad
  • Start planning a unit project presentation
  • Poetry study: "The Frost Is on the Punkin"
  • Write a poem
  • Late-1600s French settlers
  • French and Indian War
  • December 1816: Indiana statehood
  • First professional baseball game played in Fort Wayne (1871)
  • Concept of rearview mirrors invented (1911)
  • Corps of Discovery assembled in Clarksville
  • Famous poet James Whitcomb Riley
  • State flag and seal
  • "Crossroads of America"
  • Hoosier State
  • Indiana Dunes National Park and Tower
  • Time zones: Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500)
  • Fun facts
  • Amish and Mennonite communities
  • Hebrews 13:8
  • Malachi 3:6
  • James 1:17
  • Psalm 18:2
  • Isaiah 40:8
  • Perennial plants
  • Bioluminescence
  • Entomology
  • Sandhill cranes
  • Bird migrations
  • Bats: behaviors, diet, use of caves
  • Hellbender salamander
  • Four distinct seasons in Indiana
  • Effect of geographic features on weather
  • Earthquake fault zone
  • Life cycle of perennial plants
  • Compare and contrast perennial and annual plants
  • Canada
  • Upper Midwest
  • Wyandotte Caves
  • Vocabulary: bioluminescence, naturalist
  • Answer comprehension questions about Indiana's symbols
  • Write a summary of the lesson
  • Write a short story about caves
  • Add state symbols to the unit project
  • Write riddles about the state symbols
  • Write a poem using provincial symbols
  • Uses of Indiana caves throughout history
  • State flower: peony
  • State tree: tulip poplar
  • State bird: northern cardinal
  • State insect: Say's firefly
  • Design your own state symbol
  • Psalm 149:4
  • Matthew 5:14–16
  • Use of iron ore and limestone to make steel
  • How popcorn pops
  • Popcorn experiment
  • Scientific method
  • Gary
  • Elkhart
  • Goshen
  • Washington
  • Idaho
  • Montana
  • Wyoming
  • South Dakota
  • Minnesota
  • Wisconsin
  • Indiana
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • New York
  • California
  • Arizona
  • New Mexico
  • Texas
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico)
  • Lake Erie
  • Lake Michigan
  • Lake Huron
  • Lake Ontario
  • Lake Superior
  • How the interstates are numbered
  • Vocabulary: artificial, utilities
  • Listening comprehension: Indiana's industry and economy
  • Use guided notes to create a summary about Indiana's industry and economy
  • Write about an industry that had an important impact on the economy and add it to the unit project
  • Steel production begins in Indiana in the early 1900s
  • History of the Interstate Highway System
  • Main industries: farming, steel production, transportation
  • Top state crops: corn and soybeans
  • RV Capital of the World
  • Second largest FedEx hub in Indianapolis
  • Cost of living in Indiana
  • Health benefits of whole grains
  • Whole grains vs. refined grains
  • Foods made from grains
  • Galatians 6:9
  • Weight distribution
  • Dynamic lifting
  • Static lifting
  • Center of mass
  • Beech Grove
  • Warsaw
  • Lafayette
  • Prophetstown
  • Vocabulary: accountability, measured
  • Listening comprehension questions about Indiana
  • Use guided notes to create a summary about Indiana
  • Complete your unit project with the writing prompts and present it
  • Grade your unit project with the included rubric
  • Early-1800s Indiana Territory
  • Tecumseh: his life, achievements, death in 1813
  • Battle of Tippecanoe
  • War of 1812
  • Hoosier hospitality
  • Cultural differences according to region
  • Indiana sports
  • Governmental structure
  • Political views
  • Weird laws
  • Research current events in Indiana and write a breaking news report about one
  • Ways to welcome and serve others
  • Plan a hospitality event
  • Galatians 6:2
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When you complete the unit, grab a certificate to celebrate your progress!

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