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Doing One Thing Well is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on why people specialise and then trade, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.4.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Doing One Thing Well

D2.Eco.4.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.The wharf labourers specialised in canal cargo. What happened in 1846?
  • A.The canal was filled in
  • B.The railway took the cargo and their one skill lost its market
  • C.They became farmers at once
2.What is the risk of specialising in one thing?
  • A.Your tools rust
  • B.If demand for that one thing falls, you have nothing else to sell
  • C.You get bored
3.What does specialising need before it can work?
  • A.A large family
  • B.Good weather
  • C.A way to trade what you made for what you did not
4.Why did the valley send corn to the town and get manufactured goods back?
  • A.Corn will not keep
  • B.Each place made what it was better placed to make and traded the rest
  • C.The town had no fields
5.Why did the railway make specialising easier in the valley?
  • A.Farmers worked harder
  • B.Trains carry corn only
  • C.Goods could reach a wider market in one hour instead of a day
6.Why did the miller not also make the barrels?
  • A.The cooper had the tools and skill, so the miller bought barrels instead
  • B.Millers work at night
  • C.Barrels are heavy
7.Why does the farmer not shoe his own horses?
  • A.Horses object
  • B.The blacksmith does it faster and better, so trading is cheaper for both
  • C.Farmers cannot lift hammers
8.Why does the blacksmith not also grow his own corn?
  • A.Corn is illegal
  • B.He dislikes fields
  • C.He earns more in the hours he spends at the forge than at the plough

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Doing One Thing Well

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The railway took the cargo and their one skill lost its market
  2. 2.If demand for that one thing falls, you have nothing else to sell
  3. 3.A way to trade what you made for what you did not
  4. 4.Each place made what it was better placed to make and traded the rest
  5. 5.Goods could reach a wider market in one hour instead of a day
  6. 6.The cooper had the tools and skill, so the miller bought barrels instead
  7. 7.The blacksmith does it faster and better, so trading is cheaper for both
  8. 8.He earns more in the hours he spends at the forge than at the plough

More practice for D2.Eco.4.3-5

Explain why people and businesses each do one thing and then trade.

Teaching this next? Doing One Thing, Trading for the Rest is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.4.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.