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 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per student

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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 Orleans, in French Louisiana
New France, along the St. Lawrence River
New England fishing towns
New England shipyards

A.Catching and drying cod to sell abroad
B.Trading with Native nations for beaver furs
C.Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city
D.Building ships from the region's tall forests

2.Draw a line from each one to its match.

Pennsylvania farms
Virginia, after 1612
The coast of South Carolina
The Spanish missions of the Southwest

A.Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans
B.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
C.Growing tobacco to sell in England
D.Growing wheat to grind into flour

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. New Orleans, in French Louisiana — C (Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city) 2. New France, along the St. Lawrence River — B (Trading with Native nations for beaver furs) 3. New England fishing towns — A (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 4. New England shipyards — D (Building ships from the region's tall forests)
2.1. Pennsylvania farms — D (Growing wheat to grind into flour) 2. Virginia, after 1612 — C (Growing tobacco to sell in England) 3. The coast of South Carolina — A (Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans) 4. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — B (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people)

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.