Skip to content
LessonPrint

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.

Set 21 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per pupil

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Costs a Government Chooses

D2.Eco.1.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.A council builds upward on cleared land. Benefit?
  • A.Lists get shorter by themselves
  • B.More families housed from the same scarce sites
  • C.Bricks are cheaper
2.A minister publishes figures that show a shortfall. Cost?
  • A.The failure is on the record for opponents to use
  • B.Radio time is expensive
  • C.Figures take long to add
3.A council builds upward on cleared land. Cost?
  • A.Land runs out sooner
  • B.Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely
  • C.Waiting lists lengthen
4.The government builds through councils rather than firms. Cost?
  • A.It loses the land
  • B.It loses the timber
  • C.It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought
5.A newspaper prints letters attacking the programme. Benefit to readers?
  • A.The paper is longer
  • B.Letters are free
  • C.They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing
6.The government builds through councils rather than firms. Benefit?
  • A.Councils build faster
  • B.Bricks cost less
  • C.Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is
7.A minister publishes figures that show a shortfall. Benefit?
  • A.Bricks arrive faster
  • B.The public can judge progress rather than take his word
  • C.More homes get built
8.A country signs a five-year fixed-price supply deal. Benefit?
  • A.It gains territory
  • B.It gains a fleet
  • C.It knows the cost of timber for five years

LessonPrint · D2.Eco.1.3-5 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Costs a Government Chooses

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.More families housed from the same scarce sites
  2. 2.The failure is on the record for opponents to use
  3. 3.Higher building costs more per home and changes the street entirely
  4. 4.It loses whatever speed competing firms might have brought
  5. 5.They learn what people outside the official figures are experiencing
  6. 6.Materials go where destruction was worst rather than where profit is
  7. 7.The public can judge progress rather than take his word
  8. 8.It knows the cost of timber for five years

More practice for D2.Eco.1.3-5

Weigh up what a choice gains against what it costs.

Teaching this next? Costs a Government Chooses is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Eco.1.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.