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

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Doing One Thing Well

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.