How Early Colonists Made a Living is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on the resources early colonists used to make a living, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Eco.3.3-5. It prints 2 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 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
How Early Colonists Made a Living
D2.Eco.3.3-5
NameDate
Draw a line from each colony or place to how people there made a living.
1.Draw a line from each one to its match.
New England fishing towns
Virginia, after 1612
The Spanish missions of the Southwest
The coast of South Carolina
A.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
B.Catching and drying cod to sell abroad
C.Growing tobacco to sell in England
D.Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Russian America, now Alaska
New France, along the St. Lawrence River
New Orleans, in French Louisiana
New England shipyards
A.Building ships from the region's tall forests
B.Trading with Native nations for beaver furs
C.Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city
D.Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur
LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living
Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. New England fishing towns — B (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 2. Virginia, after 1612 — C (Growing tobacco to sell in England) 3. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — A (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people) 4. The coast of South Carolina — D (Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans)
2.1. Russian America, now Alaska — D (Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur) 2. New France, along the St. Lawrence River — B (Trading with Native nations for beaver furs) 3. New Orleans, in French Louisiana — C (Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city) 4. New England shipyards — A (Building ships from the region's tall forests)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.