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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 4 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.
  • Dentalium shells
  • Pipestone
  • Turquoise
  • Obsidian, a black volcanic glass
  • A.Mines in what is now New Mexico
  • B.A quarry in what is now Minnesota
  • C.The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains
  • D.The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island
2.What was Plains Indian Sign Language used for?
  • A.Sending messages by telegraph
  • B.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  • C.Writing laws on paper
3.What did many coastal peoples specialize in making to trade?
  • A.Shell beads
  • B.Glass windows
  • C.Iron tools
4.Why did the Mississippi River and its branches help trade?
  • A.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  • B.Roads ran under the river
  • C.The river was frozen all year
5.What does it mean to specialize?
  • A.To stop trading
  • B.To make what you are best placed to make and trade for the rest
  • C.To make everything yourself
6.At trading gatherings on the Columbia River, what was one important good?
  • A.Cotton cloth from England
  • B.Gold coins
  • C.Dried salmon
7.Before horses arrived, how did most trade goods travel?
  • A.By truck
  • B.By steamship
  • C.On foot and by canoe along rivers

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.4.3-5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Trading Across a Continent

Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Dentalium shells — D (The Pacific coast near Vancouver Island) 2. Pipestone — B (A quarry in what is now Minnesota) 3. Turquoise — A (Mines in what is now New Mexico) 4. Obsidian, a black volcanic glass — C (The Yellowstone area of the Rocky Mountains)
  2. 2.Talking with people of other nations who spoke different languages
  3. 3.Shell beads
  4. 4.Canoes could carry goods long distances on the water
  5. 5.To make what you are best placed to make and trade for the rest
  6. 6.Dried salmon
  7. 7.On foot and by canoe along rivers

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