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Reasoning You Cannot Follow is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on critiquing an explanation, aligned to Common Core standard D4.5.3-5. 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 3 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.

Reasoning You Cannot Follow

D4.5.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.What makes an explanation of the shortfall strong?
  • A.Strong feeling
  • B.Right order, reasoning between the steps, and sourced figures
  • C.Many adjectives
2.An explanation admits two causes it cannot separate. Is that a fault?
  • A.Yes, explanations need one cause
  • B.No, if it says so: that is what the evidence supports
  • C.Yes, it is indecisive
3.An explanation says the target was missed 'because of the war'. What is missing?
  • A.The steps: which materials ran short, and why that slowed building
  • B.A date
  • C.A longer sentence
4.An explanation puts the broadcast before the shortfall. What is wrong?
  • A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  • B.It is too short
  • C.It uses figures
5.An explanation quotes every figure in the council report. Is that best?
  • A.Yes, more is better
  • B.No: figures that serve no step bury the reasoning
  • C.Yes, figures are evidence
6.An explanation names no source at any step. Why is that weak?
  • A.It looks shorter
  • B.A reader cannot check any step against the record
  • C.Sources are decorative
7.An explanation of the waiting list never mentions completions. What is missing?
  • A.The number waiting
  • B.The year
  • C.The other half of the comparison the list only makes sense against
8.What is the difference between explaining the shortfall and arguing about it?
  • A.One is longer
  • B.One is louder
  • C.One says how it happened; the other says who to blame

LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Reasoning You Cannot Follow

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Right order, reasoning between the steps, and sourced figures
  2. 2.No, if it says so: that is what the evidence supports
  3. 3.The steps: which materials ran short, and why that slowed building
  4. 4.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
  5. 5.No: figures that serve no step bury the reasoning
  6. 6.A reader cannot check any step against the record
  7. 7.The other half of the comparison the list only makes sense against
  8. 8.One says how it happened; the other says who to blame

More practice for D4.5.3-5

Judge how good an explanation is.

Teaching this next? Reasoning You Cannot Follow 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 D4.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.