Skip to content
LessonPrint

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

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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.
  • Turquoise
  • Macaw feathers
  • Conch and whelk shells
  • Obsidian, a black volcanic glass
  • A.The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains
  • B.Mines in what is now New Mexico
  • C.Birds traded north from Mexico to the Southwest
  • D.The southern coasts near Florida
2.Before horses arrived, how did most trade goods travel?
  • A.By steamship
  • B.By truck
  • C.On foot and by canoe along rivers
3.The Hopewell people of the Ohio Valley traded over huge distances. Which shows this?
  • A.They left no objects at all
  • B.Copper, shells and obsidian from far-off places were found at their sites
  • C.They built the first railroad
4.Why did the Mississippi River and its branches help trade?
  • A.The river was frozen all year
  • B.Roads ran under the river
  • C.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
5.What was Plains Indian Sign Language used for?
  • A.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  • B.Writing laws on paper
  • C.Sending messages by telegraph
6.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
7.What did many coastal peoples specialize in making to trade?
  • A.Iron tools
  • B.Shell beads
  • C.Glass windows

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Trading Across a Continent

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Turquoise — B (Mines in what is now New Mexico) 2. Macaw feathers — C (Birds traded north from Mexico to the Southwest) 3. Conch and whelk shells — D (The southern coasts near Florida) 4. Obsidian, a black volcanic glass — A (The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains)
  2. 2.On foot and by canoe along rivers
  3. 3.Copper, shells and obsidian from far-off places were found at their sites
  4. 4.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  5. 5.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  6. 6.Farmers had corn to spare and hunters had meat and hides
  7. 7.Shell beads

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