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 20 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.
Virginia, after 1612
Pennsylvania farms
New France, along the St. Lawrence River
The Spanish missions of the Southwest
A.Trading with Native nations for beaver furs
B.Growing wheat to grind into flour
C.Growing tobacco to sell in England
D.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
New England fishing towns
New Orleans, in French Louisiana
The coast of South Carolina
California ranchos, after 1834
A.Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans
B.Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city
C.Raising cattle on huge private land grants to sell hides and tallow
D.Catching and drying cod to sell abroad
LessonPrint · D2.Eco.3.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living
Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Virginia, after 1612 — C (Growing tobacco to sell in England) 2. Pennsylvania farms — B (Growing wheat to grind into flour) 3. New France, along the St. Lawrence River — A (Trading with Native nations for beaver furs) 4. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — D (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people)
2.1. New England fishing towns — D (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 2. New Orleans, in French Louisiana — B (Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city) 3. The coast of South Carolina — A (Growing rice with the forced labor of enslaved Africans) 4. California ranchos, after 1834 — C (Raising cattle on huge private land grants to sell hides and tallow)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.