Skip to content
LessonPrint

Useful For What, Exactly? is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on judging a source's usefulness for a topic, aligned to Common Core standard D2.His.13.3-5. 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 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per pupil

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Useful For What, Exactly?

D2.His.13.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Topic: what the railway company thought. How useful is the petition?
  • A.Useless: petitions say nothing
  • B.Very useful: the company wrote it
  • C.Not useful directly: it gives the objectors' case, not the company's
2.Why does usefulness depend on the topic and not only on the source?
  • A.Old sources are always best
  • B.A source precise about one thing can be silent about another
  • C.Some sources are always useful
3.Topic: the county's trades in 1850. How useful is the directory?
  • A.Useless without wages
  • B.Very useful: it counts the trades, though not what they were paid
  • C.Complete on its own
4.Topic: what goods the canal carried. How useful is the toll table?
  • A.Very useful: it names the boatmen
  • B.Very useful: it lists the cargoes and the charge for each
  • C.Useless: it is only a table
5.Topic: how the opening was greeted. How useful is the newspaper report?
  • A.Useful, though it is one paper's view of the day
  • B.Perfectly neutral and complete
  • C.Of no use at all
6.Topic: who worked on the barges. How useful is the toll table?
  • A.Useless: tables are never evidence
  • B.Very useful: it names every boatman
  • C.Not very useful: it is silent about the people
7.Topic: hardship in the valley. How useful is the workhouse register?
  • A.Very useful: it names people and records why they had no work
  • B.Useless: it is only a list
  • C.Useful only for dates
8.Topic: who could afford to travel. How useful is the timetable?
  • A.Of no use at all
  • B.Partly useful: it gives fares, but not what people earned
  • C.Fully useful on its own

LessonPrint · D2.His.13.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Useful For What, Exactly?

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Not useful directly: it gives the objectors' case, not the company's
  2. 2.A source precise about one thing can be silent about another
  3. 3.Very useful: it counts the trades, though not what they were paid
  4. 4.Very useful: it lists the cargoes and the charge for each
  5. 5.Useful, though it is one paper's view of the day
  6. 6.Not very useful: it is silent about the people
  7. 7.Very useful: it names people and records why they had no work
  8. 8.Partly useful: it gives fares, but not what people earned

More practice for D2.His.13.3-5

Judge how useful a source is for a particular topic.

Teaching this next? Useful For What, Exactly? 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.13.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.