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Why Taking Part Matters is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how a democracy relies on participation, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Civ.2.3-5. 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.

Why Taking Part Matters

D2.Civ.2.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.What does it mean that only some people could vote in 1889?
  • A.The council answered to a narrower group than the whole county
  • B.Nobody wanted to vote
  • C.Voting was optional
2.Why did the candidate print promises rather than just his name?
  • A.Names are dull
  • B.Because voters choose between what candidates offer to do
  • C.Paper was cheap
3.How could a villager check whether the promises were kept?
  • A.Reread the poster
  • B.Look at what the council actually built afterwards
  • C.Ask the candidate
4.Only 84 signed the petition. Why might that have weakened it?
  • A.Parliament could argue few people opposed the line
  • B.84 is hard to count
  • C.Petitions need 100 names
5.What could the boatmen have done to strengthen their case?
  • A.Gathered signatures from other valleys facing the same change
  • B.Sent it twice
  • C.Written more neatly
6.Why is a petition still worth sending even if it fails?
  • A.It passes the time
  • B.It uses up paper
  • C.It records that people objected, which later historians can see
7.What happens if nobody votes in a county election?
  • A.The election is cancelled
  • B.The council is chosen by the few who did, and may ignore the rest
  • C.Nothing changes
8.Why does a county election matter to a village with no school?
  • A.The elected council decides where schools are built
  • B.Villages like posters
  • C.Elections are entertaining

LessonPrint · D2.Civ.2.3-5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Why Taking Part Matters

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The council answered to a narrower group than the whole county
  2. 2.Because voters choose between what candidates offer to do
  3. 3.Look at what the council actually built afterwards
  4. 4.Parliament could argue few people opposed the line
  5. 5.Gathered signatures from other valleys facing the same change
  6. 6.It records that people objected, which later historians can see
  7. 7.The council is chosen by the few who did, and may ignore the rest
  8. 8.The elected council decides where schools are built

More practice for D2.Civ.2.3-5

Explain why a democracy needs people to take part, and what that asks of you.

Teaching this next? A Democracy Needs People in It 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.Civ.2.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.