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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 2 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.Farmers worked harder
  • B.Goods could reach a wider market in one hour instead of a day
  • C.Trains carry corn only
2.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
3.What is the risk of specialising in one thing?
  • A.If demand for that one thing falls, you have nothing else to sell
  • B.Your tools rust
  • C.You get bored
4.Why did the miller not also make the barrels?
  • A.Millers work at night
  • B.The cooper had the tools and skill, so the miller bought barrels instead
  • C.Barrels are heavy
5.What does specialising need before it can work?
  • A.A large family
  • B.A way to trade what you made for what you did not
  • C.Good weather
6.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
7.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.They became farmers at once
  • C.The canal was filled in
8.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.The town had no fields
  • C.Corn will not keep

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Doing One Thing Well

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Goods could reach a wider market in one hour instead of a day
  2. 2.The blacksmith does it faster and better, so trading is cheaper for both
  3. 3.If demand for that one thing falls, you have nothing else to sell
  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.He earns more in the hours he spends at the forge than at the plough
  7. 7.The railway took the cargo and their one skill lost its market
  8. 8.Each place made what it was better placed to make and traded the rest

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.