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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 3 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.

Useful For What, Exactly?

D2.His.13.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Topic: hardship in the valley. How useful is the workhouse register?
  • A.Useless: it is only a list
  • B.Very useful: it names people and records why they had no work
  • C.Useful only for dates
2.Topic: who worked on the barges. How useful is the toll table?
  • A.Very useful: it names every boatman
  • B.Not very useful: it is silent about the people
  • C.Useless: tables are never evidence
3.Topic: how the opening was greeted. How useful is the newspaper report?
  • A.Perfectly neutral and complete
  • B.Useful, though it is one paper's view of the day
  • C.Of no use at all
4.Topic: the county's trades in 1850. How useful is the directory?
  • A.Very useful: it counts the trades, though not what they were paid
  • B.Complete on its own
  • C.Useless without wages
5.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
6.Topic: what goods the canal carried. How useful is the toll table?
  • A.Very useful: it lists the cargoes and the charge for each
  • B.Useless: it is only a table
  • C.Very useful: it names the boatmen
7.Why does usefulness depend on the topic and not only on the source?
  • A.Some sources are always useful
  • B.A source precise about one thing can be silent about another
  • C.Old sources are always best
8.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

LessonPrint · D2.His.13.3-5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Useful For What, Exactly?

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.