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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 7 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.

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.

County Trade Directory

A page from a printed trade directory of the county, 1850. TRADES OF THE VALLEY, 1850 Boat builders ................ 2 Blacksmiths .................. 7 Railway porters .............. 11 Wharf labourers .............. 4 Milliners .................... 3 Schoolmasters ................ 2

  1. 1. What had happened to canal work by 1850?
  2. 2. What does the directory not tell you?
2.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

Workhouse Admission Register

A page from the county workhouse register, 1847, kept by the record office. ADMITTED, MARCH 1847 Hall, Sarah, 42, widow, no work since the mill shut. Hall, Thomas, 9, son. Dunn, Patrick, 55, labourer, canal work ended. Ware, Ellen, 28, no settled home. Discharged this month: 3 persons.

  1. 1. What does the register not tell you?
  2. 2. What was happening to work in the county in 1847?

LessonPrint · D2.His.11.3-5 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Reading Past the Words

Set 7. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It had shrunk: only 4 wharf labourers remain against 11 railway porters. 2. It does not tell you what any of these workers were paid.
  2. 2.1. It does not tell you what happened to these people afterwards. 2. It was disappearing: the mill had shut and canal work had ended.

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.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.11.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.