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What Would Settle It?

A 45-minute Grade 3 lesson on working out what evidence a supporting question would actually need.

What Would Settle It? is a free 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D1.3.3-5 — name the ideas behind a smaller question that people read in more than one way. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 3 to Grade 5
Length:
45 minutes
Standard:
D1.3.3-5

Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries

D1.3.3-5

Identify the disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a supporting question that are open to interpretation.

Objective

Students will be able to state what evidence would answer a supporting question, and what would not.

Students are successful when they can

  • Names the evidence that would settle a question.
  • Rejects evidence that is about the topic but not the question.
  • Says when two pieces are needed rather than one.

What you need

  • The railway timetable and the workhouse register
  • Question strips with blank evidence boxes
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — nearly right

5 min
  1. Ask: to find who could afford to travel, is the timetable enough?
  2. Take both answers and hold the disagreement without resolving it.

Teach — the second half of the evidence

15 min
  1. Show the timetable. Third class 6 pence, first class 2 shillings. That is half the answer.
  2. Ask what the other half is: what people earned. Without it, 6 pence means nothing.
  3. Write the rule: name the evidence, then ask what it would still leave you unable to say.
  4. Do 'did the railway cause the workhouse admissions?' Numbers before and after, plus the reasons recorded.
  5. Show a tempting wrong answer: the company's name. On topic, useless for the question.
  6. Say the trap out loud: evidence about the subject is not the same as evidence for the question.
“If somebody handed you that, what could you still not say?”

Guided practice — fill the boxes

13 min
  1. Pairs take four question strips and write what evidence each needs.
  2. For two of them they add what the evidence would still leave open.
  3. Pairs check one another for on-topic-but-useless answers.

Independent practice

9 min
  1. Students complete the 'What Evidence Would Decide It?' page.
  2. Watch for answers naming a source rather than what is in it.

Close

3 min
  1. List the two questions the class could not find evidence for. Keep them.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Names a source instead of the evidence in it.

Why: 'The register' feels like a complete answer.

Fix: Ask which line of the register. The evidence is the information, not the object.

Accepts one piece where two are needed.

Why: One piece feels like enough because it is about the right thing.

Fix: Run the what-could-you-still-not-say test. Fares alone cannot say who could afford them.

Chooses evidence because it is available.

Why: The source is on the desk, so it must be the answer.

Fix: Start from the question, not the pile. Sometimes the right evidence does not survive.

If they are not there yet

  • Two strips with the first piece of evidence given.
  • Offer three evidence cards and ask which fits the question.

If they finish early

  • Write a question the surviving sources cannot answer, and say why.
  • Say what evidence would change your mind about the railway's effect.
  • Find a question needing three pieces rather than two.

Exit ticket

To answer 'did the canal decline after 1846?', what two pieces of evidence would you need?

What to look for: Figures from before and after, of the same kind. One figure alone shows the before-and-after idea has not landed.

Printable practice for D1.3.3-5

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about What Would Settle It?

How long does the What Would Settle It? lesson take?

45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 15 min, guided practice 13 min, independent practice 9 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does What Would Settle It? teach?

D1.3.3-5 — D1.3.3-5, Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Identify the disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a supporting question that are open to interpretation.” In plain terms, name the ideas behind a smaller question that people read in more than one way.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

The railway timetable and the workhouse register, question strips with blank evidence boxes and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: names a source instead of the evidence in it; accepts one piece where two are needed and chooses evidence because it is available. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “To answer 'did the canal decline after 1846?', what two pieces of evidence would you need?.” Figures from before and after, of the same kind. One figure alone shows the before-and-after idea has not landed. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with What Would Settle It??

Yes — 1 printable D1.3.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is What Would Settle It? free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D1.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.