PencilGo

Grade 4 · Social Studies · History

4th Grade Exploration and Settlement worksheets

6 printable versionsBuilding ConfidenceAbout 4 minutes eachFree · no account

When it’s done, scan the sheet with your phone and PencilGo marks it and picks the next one. Create a free account

★
Version
Print

Exploration and Settlement

Grade 4 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the answer.

  1. Tobacco helped Jamestown survive. How?

    • Colonists traded it for furs in France.
    • Colonists sold it in England for money.
    • It was used to build their houses.
  2. Which explorer founded the French settlement at Quebec in 1608?

    • Christopher Columbus
    • Samuel de Champlain
    • Hernando de Soto
  3. Look at the timeline. Which event belongs in the empty box?

    • the railroad is finished (1869)
    • the Gold Rush begins (1849)
    • Jamestown is founded (1607)
  4. Why did Jamestown's colonists struggle in their first years?

    • The Powhatan people made them leave at once.
    • Bad water and sickness weakened many people.
    • They found too much gold to carry.
PencilGopencilgo.com

4th Grade Exploration and Settlement worksheet 1 – printable PDF
Download PDF: 123456

About this worksheet

Exploration and settlement questions ask students to explain why people moved, where they settled, and how those choices affected different groups asks fourth graders to use civic, geographic, historical, or economic evidence instead of choosing a familiar-sounding word. Students may remember a route or settlement name but miss the cause, the effect, or the fact that settlers and Native communities experienced events differently. This worksheet keeps each question tied to a concrete classroom, community, map, source, or market situation so students must decide what the evidence shows. Students identify causes and effects, use location evidence, read simple chronology, include multiple perspectives, and connect settlement choices to resources.

Support versions use close-to-home examples and direct wording. Standard and challenge versions add similar choices that require closer reading of the role, location, source, or tradeoff. Ask your child to underline the clue in the prompt before choosing. If an option is true in general but does not match the exact situation, it is probably a distractor. That habit builds the evidence reading needed for later history and civics work.

What your child will learn

  • Identify causes of settlement
  • Explain effects on groups
  • Use location evidence
  • Read settlement timelines

C3 Framework standard: D2.His.14.3-5

Worked example

A trading post near a river used the river for transportation, but it could also increase pressure on Native lands and resources.

Common mistake

Describing settlement as only opportunity and ignoring who was already living on the land.

Helpful hint

Ask why people moved there, what changed, and whose perspective is missing.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with exploration and settlement?

Describing settlement as only opportunity and ignoring who was already living on the land.

How can I help my child with exploration and settlement?

Ask why people moved there, what changed, and whose perspective is missing.

Are these 4th grade social studies worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions on this page are free to download and print, with no account needed.

Similar: Timelines · Native Nations and Their Lands

More 4th grade history

See all history

Every sheet you scan goes into your child’s record: dated, marked and ready for the year-end portfolio. Homeschool records