Home / Social Studies / Printables / Grade 3 to Grade 5 / Costs a Government Chooses Costs a Government Chooses is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on comparing the benefits and costs of a public choice, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Eco.1.3-5. 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.
One paper per pupil
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Costs a Government Chooses D2.Eco.1.3-5
Name Date
Circle the best answer.
1. A newspaper prints letters attacking the programme. Benefit to readers?
A. Letters are free B. They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing C. The paper is longer 2. The government builds through councils rather than firms. Benefit?
A. Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is B. Bricks cost less C. Councils build faster 3. The government builds through councils rather than firms. Cost?
A. It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought B. It loses the timber C. It loses the land 4. A family waits seven years for a council home. What is the cost to them?
A. Seven years living in whatever they can get instead B. The rent they will pay C. The size of the home 5. A council builds upward on cleared land. Cost?
A. Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely B. Waiting lists lengthen C. Land runs out sooner 6. A country signs a five-year fixed-price supply deal. Benefit?
A. It gains a fleet B. It gains territory C. It knows the cost of timber for five years 7. A minister publishes figures that show a shortfall. Cost?
A. Figures take long to add B. The failure is on the record for opponents to use C. Radio time is expensive 8. A country signs a five-year fixed-price supply deal. Cost?
A. Timber gets heavier B. If prices fall it is locked into paying more than the market C. It loses its ports LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Costs a Government Chooses Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.
1. They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing 2. Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is 3. It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought 4. Seven years living in whatever they can get instead 5. Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely 6. It knows the cost of timber for five years 7. The failure is on the record for opponents to use 8. If prices fall it is locked into paying more than the market Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.1.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.