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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 4 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 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
2.An explanation names its sources. Why does that help?
  • A.A reader can check each step against the record
  • B.It looks formal
  • C.It fills space
3.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
4.An explanation gives the effect before the cause. What is wrong?
  • A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  • B.It is too long
  • C.It uses dates
5.An explanation uses no example. Why is that weak?
  • A.A reader cannot check the reasoning against anything real
  • B.Examples are decorative
  • C.Examples make it longer
6.An explanation says 'the workhouse filled because things got worse'. What is missing?
  • A.The steps: which work ended, and why that led to admissions
  • B.A longer sentence
  • C.A date
7.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
8.What makes an explanation of 1846 strong?
  • A.Correct order, reasoning between the steps, and detail drawn from sources
  • B.Strong feeling
  • C.Many adjectives

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What Is Missing From That Explanation?

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.