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What Is Missing From That Explanation? is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on critiquing an explanation, aligned to Common Core standard D4.5.3-5. 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 20 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.

What Is Missing From That Explanation?

D4.5.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.An explanation gives the effect before the cause. What is wrong?
  • A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  • B.It uses dates
  • C.It is too long
2.What makes an explanation of 1846 strong?
  • A.Strong feeling
  • B.Correct order, reasoning between the steps, and detail drawn from sources
  • C.Many adjectives
3.An explanation uses no example. Why is that weak?
  • A.A reader cannot check the reasoning against anything real
  • B.Examples make it longer
  • C.Examples are decorative
4.An explanation and an argument are not the same. What is the difference?
  • A.An explanation says how something happened; an argument says what you should think
  • B.An argument is longer
  • C.An explanation is louder
5.An explanation says 'the workhouse filled because things got worse'. What is missing?
  • A.A date
  • B.The steps: which work ended, and why that led to admissions
  • C.A longer sentence
6.An explanation of the milk trade never mentions the journey time. What is missing?
  • A.The price of milk
  • B.The reason freshness became possible at all
  • C.The name of the farm
7.An explanation gives every detail in the sources. Is that best?
  • A.No: detail that does not serve the question buries the reasoning
  • B.Yes, detail is evidence
  • C.Yes, more is always better
8.An explanation names its sources. Why does that help?
  • A.It looks formal
  • B.It fills space
  • C.A reader can check each step against the record

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What Is Missing From That Explanation?

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  2. 2.Correct order, reasoning between the steps, and detail drawn from sources
  3. 3.A reader cannot check the reasoning against anything real
  4. 4.An explanation says how something happened; an argument says what you should think
  5. 5.The steps: which work ended, and why that led to admissions
  6. 6.The reason freshness became possible at all
  7. 7.No: detail that does not serve the question buries the reasoning
  8. 8.A reader can check each step against the record

More practice for D4.5.3-5

Judge how good an explanation is.

Teaching this next? Finding the Gap in an Explanation 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 D4.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.