The Step That Was Skipped is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on critiquing an explanation, aligned to Common Core standard D4.5.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.An explanation gives no figure at all. Why is that weak?
A.A reader cannot check any step against the record
B.It looks shorter
C.Figures are decorative
2.What is the difference between explaining the strike and arguing about it?
A.One is longer
B.One says how it happened; the other says what you should think
C.One is louder
3.An explanation lists every tonnage in the harbour return. Is that best?
A.Yes, more is better
B.Yes, tonnage is evidence
C.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
4.An explanation names its sources at each step. Why does that help?
A.It looks formal
B.Each step can be checked separately
C.It fills space
5.What makes an explanation of the region's growth strong?
A.Many adjectives
B.Strong feeling
C.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
6.An explanation puts the strike before the wage notice. What is wrong?
A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
B.It uses figures
C.It is too short
7.An explanation of the death rates never mentions water. What is missing?
A.The link the officer's own table points at
B.The number of deaths
C.The year
8.An explanation says the uplands emptied 'because times were hard'. What is missing?
A.A longer sentence
B.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
C.A date
LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — The Step That Was Skipped
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.A reader cannot check any step against the record
2.One says how it happened; the other says what you should think
3.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
4.Each step can be checked separately
5.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
6.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
7.The link the officer's own table points at
8.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
Questions about The Step That Was Skipped
What does the The Step That Was Skipped worksheet cover?
It practises critiquing an explanation — 8 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on Common Core D4.5.3-5: Judge how good an explanation is. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does The Step That Was Skipped practise?
D4.5.3-5 — D4.5.3-5, in the Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action domain for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Critique explanations.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
The Step That Was Skipped is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on D4.5.3-5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does The Step That Was Skipped come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of The Step That Was Skipped can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is The Step That Was Skipped free to print and photocopy?
Yes. The Step That Was Skipped, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach D4.5.3-5?
Yes — “The Step That Was Skipped” is a 50-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 plan for D4.5.3-5, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. The Step That Was Skipped is the practice that follows it.
More practice for D4.5.3-5
Judge how good an explanation is.
Teaching this next? The Step That Was Skipped is the 50-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.