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Excellent Here, Useless There 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 5 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.

Excellent Here, Useless There

D2.His.13.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Topic: who could not afford to leave. How useful is the ledger?
  • A.Useless: it lists only those who paid
  • B.Complete on its own
  • C.Useful: it records a deferred, unpaid passage
2.Why can the same source be excellent and useless in one lesson?
  • A.Some sources are always best
  • B.Usefulness depends on the question, not on the source alone
  • C.Sources change
3.Topic: the owners' case in 1893. How useful is the union circular?
  • A.Directly useful: the owners wrote it
  • B.Of no use whatever
  • C.Useful indirectly: it quotes the profits the owners did not
4.Topic: why people moved. How useful is the same abstract?
  • A.Useless: censuses are unreliable
  • B.Not very useful: it counts people and records no reasons
  • C.Very useful: it explains motives
5.Topic: health and housing. How useful is the medical officer's table?
  • A.Complete on its own
  • B.Useful: it links districts, deaths and piped water
  • C.Useless: it gives no causes
6.Topic: where people moved. How useful is the census abstract?
  • A.Useless: it is only numbers
  • B.Very useful: it gives district totals for two years
  • C.Very useful: it gives reasons
7.Topic: what mill hands earned. How useful is the harbour return?
  • A.Of almost no use: it records cargo, not wages
  • B.Useful for the wage rate
  • C.Very useful: dues are wages
8.Topic: the region's trade. How useful is the harbour return?
  • A.Useless without prices
  • B.Complete on its own
  • C.Very useful: it lists tonnages and dues for a full year

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

Answer key — Excellent Here, Useless There

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Useful: it records a deferred, unpaid passage
  2. 2.Usefulness depends on the question, not on the source alone
  3. 3.Useful indirectly: it quotes the profits the owners did not
  4. 4.Not very useful: it counts people and records no reasons
  5. 5.Useful: it links districts, deaths and piped water
  6. 6.Very useful: it gives district totals for two years
  7. 7.Of almost no use: it records cargo, not wages
  8. 8.Very useful: it lists tonnages and dues for a full year

More practice for D2.His.13.3-5

Judge how useful a source is for a particular topic.

Teaching this next? Excellent Here, Useless There is the 50-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.