Skip to content
LessonPrint

Gold, Spices and Glory is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on the incentives behind European exploration, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Eco.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 students 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.

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Gold, Spices and Glory

D2.Eco.2.3-5

NameDate

Choose the best answer.

1.Coronado hoped for fame and wealth if he found the "Seven Cities of Gold." What happened?
  • A.He found seven golden cities
  • B.He found no cities of gold
  • C.He found a sea route to Asia
2.Which was a positive incentive for Spanish explorers?
  • A.The chance of shipwreck
  • B.The chance to find gold and silver
  • C.The danger of disease
3.Why were spices worth so much in Europe?
  • A.They flavored food and came from very far away
  • B.Spices were the only food in Europe
  • C.Spices grew everywhere in Europe
4.Why did the French come to North America in the 1600s?
  • A.To trade with Native nations for beaver furs
  • B.To drill for oil
  • C.To grow rice
5.Columbus sailed west in 1492. Who paid for his voyage?
  • A.The Haudenosaunee Grand Council
  • B.Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain
  • C.The king of France
6.Besides riches, what else did many explorers and priests want?
  • A.To build railroads
  • B.To learn to ride bison
  • C.To spread Christianity
7.Why did kings and queens pay for voyages?
  • A.To give their land away
  • B.To claim land and riches for their countries
  • C.To keep their sailors at home
8.Glory was an incentive too. What did glory mean for an explorer?
  • A.Fame and honor at home for great discoveries
  • B.A free ship
  • C.A kind of spice

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.2.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Gold, Spices and Glory

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.He found no cities of gold
  2. 2.The chance to find gold and silver
  3. 3.They flavored food and came from very far away
  4. 4.To trade with Native nations for beaver furs
  5. 5.Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain
  6. 6.To spread Christianity
  7. 7.To claim land and riches for their countries
  8. 8.Fame and honor at home for great discoveries

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.2.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.