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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 21 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.
  • Macaw feathers
  • Flint for tools
  • Conch and whelk shells
  • Dentalium shells
  • A.The southern coasts near Florida
  • B.The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island
  • C.Birds traded north from Mexico to the Southwest
  • D.Quarries such as Flint Ridge in Ohio
2.What does it mean to specialize?
  • A.To make what you are best placed to make and trade for the rest
  • B.To make everything yourself
  • C.To stop trading
3.At trading gatherings on the Columbia River, what was one important good?
  • A.Dried salmon
  • B.Cotton cloth from England
  • C.Gold coins
4.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
5.Why was obsidian valuable far from where it was found?
  • A.It glowed in the dark
  • B.It was soft enough to eat
  • C.It was rare there and made very sharp tools
6.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 built the first railroad
  • C.They left no objects at all
7.Why did nations trade goods with peoples far away?
  • A.Each region had resources that others did not
  • B.Trade was required by a king
  • C.Every region had exactly the same resources

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Trading Across a Continent

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Macaw feathers — C (Birds traded north from Mexico to the Southwest) 2. Flint for tools — D (Quarries such as Flint Ridge in Ohio) 3. Conch and whelk shells — A (The southern coasts near Florida) 4. Dentalium shells — B (The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island)
  2. 2.To make what you are best placed to make and trade for the rest
  3. 3.Dried salmon
  4. 4.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  5. 5.It was rare there and made very sharp tools
  6. 6.Copper, shells and obsidian from far-off places were found at their sites
  7. 7.Each region had resources that others did not

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