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 9 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.
Newspaper Report: The Railway Opens
A report in the county newspaper, printed the week the railway opened in 1846.
THE LINE IS OPEN
The first train reached the county town in one hour.
By road the same journey took most of a day.
Farmers may now send milk to the town while it is fresh.
The canal company has cut its charges in answer.
Some say the noise and smoke will spoil the valley.
1. What does the report not tell you?
2. Did everybody welcome the railway?
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 9 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Reading Past the Words
Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. It does not tell you what happened to the canal company afterwards. 2. No. Some said the noise and smoke would spoil the valley.
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.