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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 15 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

The Step That Was Skipped

D4.5.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.What is the difference between explaining the strike and arguing about it?
  • A.One says how it happened; the other says what you should think
  • B.One is longer
  • C.One is louder
2.An explanation says the uplands emptied 'because times were hard'. What is missing?
  • A.A longer sentence
  • B.A date
  • C.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
3.An explanation lists every tonnage in the harbour return. Is that best?
  • A.Yes, tonnage is evidence
  • B.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
  • C.Yes, more is better
4.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
5.An explanation of the death rates never mentions water. What is missing?
  • A.The year
  • B.The link the officer's own table points at
  • C.The number of deaths
6.What makes an explanation of the region's growth strong?
  • A.Many adjectives
  • B.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
  • C.Strong feeling
7.An explanation names its sources at each step. Why does that help?
  • A.It looks formal
  • B.It fills space
  • C.Each step can be checked separately
8.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

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Step That Was Skipped

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.One says how it happened; the other says what you should think
  2. 2.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
  3. 3.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
  4. 4.A reader cannot check any step against the record
  5. 5.The link the officer's own table points at
  6. 6.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
  7. 7.Each step can be checked separately
  8. 8.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow

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.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D4.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.