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 16 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 France, along the St. Lawrence River
Russian America, now Alaska
The Spanish missions of the Southwest
Pennsylvania farms
A.Growing wheat to grind into flour
B.Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur
C.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
D.Trading with Native nations for beaver furs
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
The coast of South Carolina
Virginia, after 1612
New England fishing towns
New England shipyards
A.Growing tobacco to sell in England
B.Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans
C.Catching and drying cod to sell abroad
D.Building ships from the region's tall forests
LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living
Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. New France, along the St. Lawrence River — D (Trading with Native nations for beaver furs) 2. Russian America, now Alaska — B (Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur) 3. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — C (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people) 4. Pennsylvania farms — A (Growing wheat to grind into flour)
2.1. The coast of South Carolina — B (Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans) 2. Virginia, after 1612 — A (Growing tobacco to sell in England) 3. New England fishing towns — C (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 4. New England shipyards — D (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.