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

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Doing One Thing Well

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.