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 25 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.
Pennsylvania farms
New England shipyards
Virginia, after 1612
The Spanish missions of the Southwest
A.Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people
B.Building ships from the region's tall forests
C.Growing tobacco to sell in England
D.Growing wheat to grind into flour
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
New Orleans, in French Louisiana
New England fishing towns
California ranchos, after 1834
Russian America, now Alaska
A.Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city
B.Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur
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 25 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — How Early Colonists Made a Living
Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Pennsylvania farms — D (Growing wheat to grind into flour) 2. New England shipyards — B (Building ships from the region's tall forests) 3. Virginia, after 1612 — C (Growing tobacco to sell in England) 4. The Spanish missions of the Southwest — A (Farming and herding under priests, with the forced labor of Native people)
2.1. New Orleans, in French Louisiana — A (Shipping goods down the Mississippi River through a port city) 2. New England fishing towns — D (Catching and drying cod to sell abroad) 3. California ranchos, after 1834 — C (Raising cattle on huge private land grants to sell hides and tallow) 4. Russian America, now Alaska — B (Making Aleut hunters hunt sea otters for their fur)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.