The printing press and how books spread ideas

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Before and after the press (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, before printing: books were copied by hand, which was slow and expensive. There were far fewer manuscripts than people wanted. Card B, about 1440 in Mainz: the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg combined four things that already existed, the screw press, movable type, the codex (pages bound into a book) and paper making, into a movable-type printing press. Card C, in China in the 1040s: Bi Sheng made movable type from baked clay. Nothing on these cards shows that his idea reached Gutenberg. In East Asia, woodblock printing stayed the main method. Card D, the 1440s: Gutenberg's shop in Mainz was at first the one print shop in Europe.

2. 1.

   Cards A to D are summaries written by modern writers. What kind of source are they, Ari asks?

   • Eyewitness diaries kept in Mainz by workers in Gutenberg's shop
   • Primary sources, made by people who watched the events happen
   • Secondary sources, written long after from other evidence
   • Advertisements that printers used to sell their books
3. 2.

   Which statement fits card B, Bo asks?

   • Gutenberg invented the screw press, type, codex and paper from nothing
   • The printing press existed first, and the screw press was built after it
   • Gutenberg combined four existing things into one press
   • Gutenberg learned the four ideas from Bi Sheng in China
4. 3.

   Card C dates Bi Sheng to the 1040s and card B dates Gutenberg's press to about 1440. About how many years apart, Esme asks?

   • About 400 years
   • About 40 years, the gap between 1400 and 1440
   • About 1,040 years, counted from Bi Sheng to today
   • About 2,480 years, the two years combined
5. 4.

   A student says, "Card C shows Gutenberg copied Bi Sheng." How strong is that claim, Jun asks?

   • Weak: an invention in China could not matter to anyone in Europe
   • Strong: both made movable type, so one must have copied the other
   • Strong: card C says Bi Sheng was first, so Gutenberg learned from him
   • Weak: nothing shows Bi Sheng's idea reached Gutenberg
6. 5.

   A scribe who copies books and a reader who wants to own books look at card A. How might they differ, Luz asks?

   • The reader would be glad of high prices, since rare books are special
   • Both would see the same thing, since both deal with books
   • The scribe may see steady work; the reader sees high prices
   • The scribe would want books to be cheaper, since a scribe pays for them
7. 6.

   A scribe copies 2 pages a day (a made-up pace). A book has 240 pages. How many days for one scribe, and how many scribes to finish in 30 days, Milo asks?

   • 120 days; 4 scribes
   • 480 days; 16 scribes, found by multiplying 240 by 2
   • 60 days; 2 scribes, found by halving the pages again
   • 120 days; 90 scribes, found by taking 120 minus 30
8. 7.

   What changed about making books once the press combined the four things on card B, Pia asks?

   • Books stopped using paper and went back to rolls
   • Books were made by setting type and pressing sheets
   • Books were made only in China, where movable type began
   • Books were made by hand even more slowly, since type is hard to set
9. 8.

   Which would be the best source for how Gutenberg's shop worked, Ren asks?

   • Pages and records from his own time and shop
   • A map showing where Mainz is today
   • A book written 400 years later that retells stories about him
   • A book about Bi Sheng's work in China
10. 9.

    A student says, "Gutenberg invented printing." Which reply is best, Tala asks?

    • Wrong: printing began in the 1400s in China, long after Gutenberg's press
    • Correct: card B says Gutenberg created the press from nothing and no one before him
    • Wrong: card D shows Gutenberg did not own a print shop in Mainz or anywhere
    • Partly: card C shows earlier type, and card B shows he combined existing things
11. 10.

    Card D says Gutenberg's was at first the one print shop in Europe. A student says, "So he made every book in Europe." Which reply is best, Zee asks?

    • Not supported: scribes still made books by hand
    • Supported: card D says one shop, so no other books were being made
    • Supported: card B says Gutenberg made books for the whole continent
    • Not supported: card D says there were many print shops by then