Reading Past the Words is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on inferring audience and purpose from a source, aligned to Common Core standard D2.His.11.3-5. It prints 2 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 23 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Reading Past the Words
D2.His.11.3-5
NameDate
Look at the source, then answer the questions.
1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.
Canal Toll Table
A table of charges posted at the canal wharf by the canal company, 1840.
GRAND UNION CANAL: CHARGES PER TON
Coal ......................... 2 pence a mile
Stone and gravel ............. 1 penny a mile
Corn and flour ............... 3 pence a mile
Manufactured goods ........... 5 pence a mile
Barges must give way to loaded craft.
1. Which cargo was the canal company most keen to carry cheaply?
2. What does the toll table not tell you?
2.Look at the source, then answer the questions.
Railway Timetable, First Year
A timetable printed by the railway company in 1846, its first year of service.
TRAINS TO THE COUNTY TOWN
Leave 7 in the morning, arrive 8.
Leave 1 in the afternoon, arrive 2.
Leave 6 in the evening, arrive 7.
Third class carriages are open to the weather.
Fare: 6 pence third class, 2 shillings first class.
1. Who was third class meant for?
2. What does the timetable not tell you?
LessonPrint · D2.His.11.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Reading Past the Words
Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Stone and gravel, since it charged only 1 penny a mile for it. 2. It does not tell you who worked on the barges.
2.1. People who could not pay 2 shillings, since third class carriages were open to the weather. 2. It does not tell you how many people actually travelled.
More practice for D2.His.11.3-5
Work out who a source was made for and why, from the source itself.
Teaching this next? Who Was This Made For? is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.