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 19 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
The coast of South Carolina
Russian America, now Alaska
Virginia, after 1612
A.Catching and drying cod to sell abroad
B.Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans
C.Growing tobacco to sell in England
D.Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
The Spanish missions of the Southwest
New Orleans, in French Louisiana
New France, along the St. Lawrence River
New England shipyards
A.Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city
B.Building ships from the region's tall forests
C.Trading with Native nations for beaver furs
D.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living
Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. New England fishing towns — A (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 2. The coast of South Carolina — B (Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans) 3. Russian America, now Alaska — D (Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur) 4. Virginia, after 1612 — C (Growing tobacco to sell in England)
2.1. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — D (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people) 2. New Orleans, in French Louisiana — A (Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city) 3. New France, along the St. Lawrence River — C (Trading with Native nations for beaver furs) 4. New England shipyards — B (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.