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Free 3rd grade social studies worksheets with answers

Written by Dr. Evan J. Hasson, DC — a dad of three who built this curriculum for his own children.

50 questions with the answers, free to print and free to photocopy for your own students. Communities, maps and geography, civics, economics and history, drawn from every topic in the grade.

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History & Social Studies — Grade 3

50 questions · answers marked50 questions · answers hidden

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  1. 1. In many places, who is the leader of a city or town?
    1. A. The governor
    2. B. The principal
    3. C. The mayor ← Answer
    4. D. The president
  2. 2. Who makes laws?
    1. A. A government ← Answer
    2. B. A family
    3. C. A sports team
    4. D. A school club
  3. 3. Is water a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Human resource
    2. B. Natural resource ← Answer
    3. C. Not a resource
    4. D. Capital resource
  4. 4. Which direction is at the top of most maps?
    1. A. East
    2. B. North ← Answer
    3. C. South
    4. D. West
  5. 5. On a physical map, what does the color blue usually show?
    1. A. Deserts
    2. B. Water ← Answer
    3. C. Forests
    4. D. Mountains
  6. 6. A city with many tall buildings and busy streets is called...
    1. A. a rural area
    2. B. a farming area
    3. C. a suburban area
    4. D. an urban area ← Answer
  7. 7. How many years are in a decade?
    1. A. 100 years
    2. B. 12 years
    3. C. 5 years
    4. D. 10 years ← Answer
  8. 8. Before electric lights, what did many homes use for light?
    1. A. Electric light bulbs
    2. B. Neon signs on walls
    3. C. Candles and oil lamps ← Answer
    4. D. Battery flashlights
  9. 9. Who is the leader of a state?
    1. A. The mayor
    2. B. The coach
    3. C. The president
    4. D. The governor ← Answer
  10. 10. Who makes the rules for a home?
    1. A. The president
    2. B. The town council
    3. C. The governor
    4. D. The family ← Answer
  11. 11. Is a teacher a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Natural resource
    2. B. Not a resource
    3. C. Human resource ← Answer
    4. D. Capital resource
  12. 12. Which of these is a cardinal direction?
    1. A. Southwest
    2. B. Northeast
    3. C. West ← Answer
    4. D. Northwest
  13. 13. What do we call land that has water all around it?
    1. A. Island ← Answer
    2. B. Plateau
    3. C. Valley
    4. D. Peninsula
  14. 14. A countryside area with farms and few people is called...
    1. A. a downtown area
    2. B. an urban area
    3. C. a suburban area
    4. D. a rural area ← Answer
  15. 15. How many years are in a century?
    1. A. 10 years
    2. B. 1,000 years
    3. C. 50 years
    4. D. 100 years ← Answer
  16. 16. About 150 years ago, how did many people travel between towns?
    1. A. By city subway
    2. B. By electric scooter
    3. C. By jet airplane
    4. D. By horse or train ← Answer
  17. 17. Who is the leader of the whole country?
    1. A. The president ← Answer
    2. B. The mayor
    3. C. The council
    4. D. The governor
  18. 18. What is a rule?
    1. A. A law that only a president can make
    2. B. A tool for drawing straight lines
    3. C. A guide a group agrees to follow ← Answer
    4. D. A kind of game played at recess
  19. 19. Is a hammer a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Natural resource
    2. B. Capital resource ← Answer
    3. C. Human resource
    4. D. Not a resource
  20. 20. Which of these is an intermediate direction?
    1. A. North
    2. B. East
    3. C. Southeast ← Answer
    4. D. South
  21. 21. What is very high land that rises steeply to a peak?
    1. A. Mountain ← Answer
    2. B. Valley
    3. C. Plain
    4. D. Peninsula
  22. 22. An area near a city with many houses and yards is called...
    1. A. a suburban area ← Answer
    2. B. an urban area
    3. C. a rural area
    4. D. a downtown area
  23. 23. On a timeline, where does the earliest event go?
    1. A. On the right
    2. B. At the top
    3. C. In the middle
    4. D. On the left ← Answer
  24. 24. Long ago, how did people send news to family who lived far away?
    1. A. Writing a letter ← Answer
    2. B. Sending a text message
    3. C. Making a video call
    4. D. Sending an email
  25. 25. What is local government?
    1. A. The government of one whole state
    2. B. The government of a town or county ← Answer
    3. C. The government of the whole country
    4. D. The leaders of a big sports league
  26. 26. What is a law?
    1. A. A rule made by kids for their game
    2. B. A rule made by a government for all ← Answer
    3. C. A rule made by a club for members
    4. D. A rule made by a family for its home
  27. 27. Is a tree a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Capital resource
    2. B. Not a resource
    3. C. Natural resource ← Answer
    4. D. Human resource
  28. 28. What is the opposite of north?
    1. A. West
    2. B. East
    3. C. South ← Answer
    4. D. Northeast
  29. 29. What do we call wide, mostly flat land?
    1. A. Plain ← Answer
    2. B. Hill
    3. C. Island
    4. D. Valley
  30. 30. What does the word population mean?
    1. A. How tall the buildings are in it
    2. B. How many people live in a place ← Answer
    3. C. How many stores a place has
    4. D. How much land a place has
  31. 31. On a timeline, where does the latest event go?
    1. A. On the right ← Answer
    2. B. On the left
    3. C. In the middle
    4. D. At the bottom
  32. 32. Today, how can people send a message that arrives in seconds?
    1. A. By a horse rider
    2. B. By text message ← Answer
    3. C. By a mailed letter
    4. D. By a sailing ship
  33. 33. What does a town council do?
    1. A. Makes local laws and decides on spending ← Answer
    2. B. Plays music at all the town parades
    3. C. Leads the whole country's army
    4. D. Runs every single school in the whole state
  34. 34. What is a responsibility?
    1. A. Something a person is expected to do ← Answer
    2. B. A prize you win for following rules
    3. C. A kind of rule only adults follow
    4. D. Something you are never allowed to do
  35. 35. Is a baker a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Not a resource
    2. B. Human resource ← Answer
    3. C. Capital resource
    4. D. Natural resource
  36. 36. What is the opposite of west?
    1. A. South
    2. B. East ← Answer
    3. C. Southwest
    4. D. North
  37. 37. Which body of water has land all around it?
    1. A. Ocean
    2. B. Lake ← Answer
    3. C. River
    4. D. Coast
  38. 38. What is a community?
    1. A. A building where leaders make laws
    2. B. A store where people buy food and clothes
    3. C. A map that shows roads and rivers
    4. D. A place where people live, work and play ← Answer
  39. 39. What is a timeline?
    1. A. A line showing events in order ← Answer
    2. B. A list of words and meanings
    3. C. A map showing where places are
    4. D. A chart showing the weather
  40. 40. What does the word continuity mean?
    1. A. Something that becomes very different
    2. B. Something that happened only yesterday morning
    3. C. Something that was invented just today
    4. D. Something that stays the same over time ← Answer
  41. 41. What is a tax?
    1. A. A prize given to good citizens
    2. B. A kind of town law about parks
    3. C. Money paid to the government ← Answer
    4. D. A ticket to ride the city bus
  42. 42. What is a freedom?
    1. A. Being able to make your own choices ← Answer
    2. B. Following a leader everywhere you go
    3. C. Paying a fine for breaking a rule
    4. D. Having to do every chore at home
  43. 43. Is a tractor a natural, human or capital resource?
    1. A. Not a resource
    2. B. Capital resource ← Answer
    3. C. Human resource
    4. D. Natural resource
  44. 44. Which direction is halfway between north and east?
    1. A. Southeast
    2. B. East
    3. C. Northeast ← Answer
    4. D. Northwest
  45. 45. What is a long stream of fresh water that flows across the land?
    1. A. Lake
    2. B. River ← Answer
    3. C. Ocean
    4. D. Plateau
  46. 46. Which would you most likely see in a rural area?
    1. A. A skyscraper
    2. B. A subway station
    3. C. A cornfield ← Answer
    4. D. A parking garage
  47. 47. What does chronological order mean?
    1. A. From last to first
    2. B. From biggest to smallest
    3. C. From A to Z by name
    4. D. From first to last ← Answer
  48. 48. What does the word change mean?
    1. A. When something becomes different ← Answer
    2. B. When something is far away
    3. C. When something is very, very old now
    4. D. When something stays the same
  49. 49. What is a government service?
    1. A. Work the government does for people ← Answer
    2. B. A game that kids play at the town park
    3. C. A party held for the new mayor
    4. D. A store that sells toys downtown
  50. 50. What is a consequence?
    1. A. A freedom that every single person has
    2. B. A person who writes the laws for a town
    3. C. A rule written on a big poster at school
    4. D. What happens as a result of an action ← Answer
UpOnly Learning · uponlylearning.com · free to print and photocopy for your own studentsHistory & Social Studies — Grade 3
UpOnly Learning · uponlylearning.com · History & Social Studies Grade 3

What 3rd grade social studies covers

3rd grade social studies at UpOnly Learning is 8 topics, taught in this order: map skills: compass rose, map key and grid, urban, suburban and rural communities, physical maps: landforms and bodies of water, communities then and now, building a timeline, rules, laws and responsibilities, local government and its leaders, and natural, human and capital resources. The 50 questions above are drawn from those topics, with the answer marked beside each one, so you can see what has stuck and what needs another lesson. The workbook teaches each topic with a 40-minute lesson; the free PDF sample has one full topic.

What's inside

  • Map skills: compass rose, map key and grid: Read and draw maps using cardinal and intermediate directions, a map key and a letter-number grid
  • Urban, suburban and rural communities: Compare three kinds of communities and explain how land, water and jobs affect where people live
  • Physical maps: landforms and bodies of water: Read physical maps to find and name mountains, plains, plateaus, deserts, valleys, rivers, lakes, oceans, peninsulas and islands
  • Communities then and now: Compare how people traveled, worked, shopped and communicated long ago with life in a community today
  • Building a timeline: Put related events in order on a timeline using years, decades and centuries, and find events that happened at the same time
  • Rules, laws and responsibilities: Explain how groups make rules and laws that give people responsibilities and protect their freedoms
  • Local government and its leaders: Describe what mayors, city or town councils and local services do, and how they differ from state and national leaders
  • Natural, human and capital resources: Identify the three kinds of resources used to produce goods and services in a community

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History & Social Studies · Grade 3

$19.99. One-time purchase, no subscription.

206 pages · 960 questions with answers · 8 topics

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From the workbook

A real page of History & Social Studies · Grade 3

Who Runs Our Town?

The student will describe what a mayor, a city or town council and local services do, and tell how local leaders differ from state and national leaders. · 40 min

Warm-up — say this

“Many of those helpers work for our local government. Let's learn how it works.”

Worked example

A big tree fell in the town park. Which level of government would most likely clean it up?

Answer: Local government. Town parks are run by the town or city, often by a parks department.

A mistake students make

The president is in charge of everything, including fixing my street.

How the book fixes it

Use the circles to show that each level has its own jobs. Local streets, parks and libraries are usually handled by local government, not the president.

Note to the parent

Point out local services as you see them, like a trash truck or a library, and ask which level of government runs it.

That is one topic of many. The free questions above check a skill; this is the part that teaches it.

Practice checks. Our history and social studies workbooks teach.

These questions check a skill. The workbook teaches it.

  • TeachesA 40-minute lesson per topic that tells you what to say.
  • ExplainsWorked examples and the common mistakes, with fixes.
  • ReviewsAnswers with short explanations, and fresh questions.
  • PlansEvery topic in teaching order, matched to the standards.
$19.99 each Buy a history and social studies teaching workbook Free sample More free resources

Other grades

KindergartenFree kindergarten history and social studies questionsGrade 1Free 1st grade history and social studies questionsGrade 2Free 2nd grade history and social studies questionsGrade 4Free 4th grade history and social studies questionsGrade 5Free 5th grade history and social studies questionsGrade 6Free 6th grade history and social studies questionsGrade 7Free 7th grade history and social studies questionsGrade 8Free 8th grade history and social studies questions

Grade 3, other subjects

MathFree 3rd grade math questionsReadingFree 3rd grade reading questionsScienceFree 3rd grade science questionsWritingFree 3rd grade writing and grammar questionsLife SkillsFree 3rd grade life skills questionsBusinessFree 3rd grade business and money questionsPsychologyFree 3rd grade psychology questions

Questions parents ask

Are these history and social studies worksheets really free?

Yes. All 50 questions and their answers are on this page, free to print and free to photocopy for your own students. Printing needs only a free account. No card.

Can a teacher or a tutor use these with a class?

Yes. Print and photocopy them for the students you teach. The only thing we ask is that you do not republish them as your own or sell them.

Where are the answers?

Marked beside each question on this page, so it prints as its own answer key. For a clean copy, click Hide answers before you print; click Show answers again to print your answer key.

What grade are these for?

Grade 3. Every other grade from kindergarten to grade 8 has its own page, linked at the foot of this one. If your student finds these hard, try the grade below — that is normal and it is not a problem.

What do the paid workbooks add?

These questions check a skill. The workbook teaches it: a forty-minute lesson that tells you what to say, two or three worked examples, the mistakes students actually make on that skill and how to correct each one, and an explanation beside every answer rather than a bare key.