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Trading Across a Continent is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on trade networks among Native nations before 1492, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Eco.4.3-5. It prints 7 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 16 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.

Trading Across a Continent

D2.Eco.4.3-5

NameDate

Draw a line from each trade good to where it came from. Then choose the best answers.

1.Draw a line from each one to its match.
  • Obsidian, a black volcanic glass
  • Turquoise
  • Dentalium shells
  • Copper
  • A.Mines in what is now New Mexico
  • B.The Lake Superior region
  • C.The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains
  • D.The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island
2.Why did the Mississippi River and its branches help trade?
  • A.Roads ran under the river
  • B.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  • C.The river was frozen all year
3.What was Plains Indian Sign Language used for?
  • A.Writing laws on paper
  • B.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  • C.Sending messages by telegraph
4.At trading gatherings on the Columbia River, what was one important good?
  • A.Cotton cloth from England
  • B.Gold coins
  • C.Dried salmon
5.Why did farming peoples and hunting peoples trade with each other?
  • A.Farmers had corn to spare and hunters had meat and hides
  • B.Neither had anything to trade
  • C.Both had exactly the same goods
6.Before horses arrived, how did most trade goods travel?
  • A.By truck
  • B.By steamship
  • C.On foot and by canoe along rivers
7.The Hopewell people of the Ohio Valley traded over huge distances. Which shows this?
  • A.Copper, shells and obsidian from far-off places were found at their sites
  • B.They left no objects at all
  • C.They built the first railroad

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Trading Across a Continent

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Obsidian, a black volcanic glass — C (The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains) 2. Turquoise — A (Mines in what is now New Mexico) 3. Dentalium shells — D (The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island) 4. Copper — B (The Lake Superior region)
  2. 2.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  3. 3.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  4. 4.Dried salmon
  5. 5.Farmers had corn to spare and hunters had meat and hides
  6. 6.On foot and by canoe along rivers
  7. 7.Copper, shells and obsidian from far-off places were found at their sites

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.4.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.