What Is Missing From That Explanation? 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 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.An explanation and an argument are not the same. What is the difference?
A.An explanation says how something happened; an argument says what you should think
B.An argument is longer
C.An explanation is louder
2.What makes an explanation of 1846 strong?
A.Correct order, reasoning between the steps, and detail drawn from sources
B.Many adjectives
C.Strong feeling
3.An explanation gives every detail in the sources. Is that best?
A.Yes, detail is evidence
B.Yes, more is always better
C.No: detail that does not serve the question buries the reasoning
4.An explanation uses no example. Why is that weak?
A.A reader cannot check the reasoning against anything real
B.Examples are decorative
C.Examples make it longer
5.An explanation says 'the workhouse filled because things got worse'. What is missing?
A.The steps: which work ended, and why that led to admissions
B.A date
C.A longer sentence
6.An explanation gives the effect before the cause. What is wrong?
A.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
B.It is too long
C.It uses dates
7.An explanation of the milk trade never mentions the journey time. What is missing?
A.The reason freshness became possible at all
B.The price of milk
C.The name of the farm
8.An explanation names its sources. Why does that help?
A.It looks formal
B.It fills space
C.A reader can check each step against the record
LessonPrint · D4.5.3-5 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — What Is Missing From That Explanation?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.An explanation says how something happened; an argument says what you should think
2.Correct order, reasoning between the steps, and detail drawn from sources
3.No: detail that does not serve the question buries the reasoning
4.A reader cannot check the reasoning against anything real
5.The steps: which work ended, and why that led to admissions
6.The order makes the reasoning impossible to follow
7.The reason freshness became possible at all
8.A reader can check each step against the record
Questions about What Is Missing From That Explanation?
What does the What Is Missing From That Explanation? worksheet cover?
It practises critiquing an explanation — 8 questions for Grade 3 to Grade 5, all on Common Core D4.5.3-5: Judge how good an explanation is. The instruction to pupils is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does What Is Missing From That Explanation? practise?
D4.5.3-5 — D4.5.3-5, in the Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action domain for Grade 3 to Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Critique explanations.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
What Is Missing From That Explanation? is written for Grade 3 to Grade 5, typically ages 40-41. It is one of the sheets on D4.5.3-5, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does What Is Missing From That Explanation? come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of What Is Missing From That Explanation? can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is What Is Missing From That Explanation? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. What Is Missing From That Explanation?, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach D4.5.3-5?
Yes — “Finding the Gap in an Explanation” is a 45-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 plan for D4.5.3-5, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. What Is Missing From That Explanation? is the practice that follows it.