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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 7 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 louder
  • C.One is longer
2.An explanation says the uplands emptied 'because times were hard'. What is missing?
  • A.The steps: which market failed, and why that emptied the farms
  • B.A date
  • C.A longer sentence
3.An explanation puts the strike before the wage notice. What is wrong?
  • A.It is too short
  • B.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  • C.It uses figures
4.What makes an explanation of the region's growth strong?
  • A.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
  • B.Many adjectives
  • C.Strong feeling
5.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
6.An explanation lists every tonnage in the harbour return. Is that best?
  • A.Yes, more is better
  • B.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
  • C.Yes, tonnage is evidence
7.An explanation gives no figure at all. Why is that weak?
  • A.Figures are decorative
  • B.A reader cannot check any step against the record
  • C.It looks shorter
8.An explanation of the death rates never mentions water. What is missing?
  • A.The number of deaths
  • B.The year
  • C.The link the officer's own table points at

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Step That Was Skipped

Set 7. 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.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  4. 4.Right order, reasoning between steps, and figures drawn from sources
  5. 5.Each step can be checked separately
  6. 6.No: detail that serves no step buries the reasoning
  7. 7.A reader cannot check any step against the record
  8. 8.The link the officer's own table points at

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.