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
   • Advertisements that printers used to sell their books
   • Secondary sources, written long after from other evidence
   • Primary sources, made by people who watched the events happen
3. 2.

   Which statement fits card B, Bo asks?

   • Gutenberg invented the screw press, type, codex and paper from nothing
   • Gutenberg learned the four ideas from Bi Sheng in China
   • The printing press existed first, and the screw press was built after it
   • Gutenberg combined four existing things into one press
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 1,040 years, counted from Bi Sheng to today
   • About 400 years
   • About 2,480 years, the two years combined
   • About 40 years, the gap between 1400 and 1440
5. 4.

   Card C says woodblock printing stayed the main method in East Asia. What does that show about Bi Sheng's type, Kira asks?

   • It was copied in Europe, which led to Gutenberg's press in Mainz
   • It was not used for any printing in China
   • It did not replace woodblock printing in East Asia
   • It was used so widely that woodblock printing faded away
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 scribe would want books to be cheaper, since a scribe pays for them
   • The scribe may see steady work; the reader sees high prices
   • Both would see the same thing, since both deal with books
   • The reader would be glad of high prices, since rare books are special
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; 90 scribes, found by taking 120 minus 30
   • 60 days; 2 scribes, found by halving the pages again
   • 120 days; 4 scribes
   • 480 days; 16 scribes, found by multiplying 240 by 2
8. 7.

   Card A says hand-copied books were expensive. Which reason fits best, Noah asks?

   • Readers did not want books, so scribes charged extra to make them
   • Each copy took a scribe a long time, so the price covered that work
   • Presses made too many books at once, so each single book cost more
   • Paper did not exist yet, so books had to be made from costly gold
9. 8.

   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 only in China, where movable type began
   • Books were made by hand even more slowly, since type is hard to set
   • Books were made by setting type and pressing sheets
10. 9.

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

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

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