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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 2 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.An explanation says the uplands emptied 'because times were hard'. What is missing?
  • A.A date
  • B.A longer sentence
  • C.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
2.An explanation gives no figure at all. Why is that weak?
  • A.It looks shorter
  • B.Figures are decorative
  • C.A reader cannot check any step against the record
3.What makes an explanation of the region's growth strong?
  • A.Strong feeling
  • B.Many adjectives
  • C.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
4.An explanation lists every tonnage in the harbour return. Is that best?
  • A.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
  • B.Yes, tonnage is evidence
  • C.Yes, more is better
5.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 louder
  • C.One is longer
6.An explanation puts the strike before the wage notice. What is wrong?
  • A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  • B.It is too short
  • C.It uses figures
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 names its sources at each step. Why does that help?
  • A.Each step can be checked separately
  • B.It looks formal
  • C.It fills space

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Step That Was Skipped

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.