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

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What Is Missing From That Explanation?

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.