Sample CRCT Items for Social Studies Grades 3-5
SOCIAL STUDIES – GRADE 3
1. Why did the early settlers cut down large numbers of tall trees?
A. The trees blocked their view.
B. Dangerous animals lived in the trees.
C. The trees were made into telephone poles.
D. The wood was used to build houses and ships.
ANSWER: D
2. Farm products grow well in the Piedmont area of Georgia. This is because the land there is
A. mountainous.
B. dry and sandy.
C. cold and rocky.
D. gently rolling and rich.
ANSWER: D
3. Which resource should you use to learn about the invention of the light bulb?
A. an atlas
B. a dictionary
C. an encyclopedia
D. a glossary
ANSWER: C
4. Mary Musgrove was half-English and half-Creek. She lived at Yamacraw Bluff with her husband and ran a trading post. What was her most important skill that helped the colonists?
A. She spoke both Creek and English.
B. She sold the colonists meat and bread.
C. She gave the colonists supplies for free.
D. She owned St. Catherine’s Island.
Answer A
Use the graph below to answer question 5.
5. During which period did the population of Georgia have the greatest increase?
A. 1900–1920
B. 1920–1940
C. 1940–1960
D. 1960–1980
ANSWER: D
Use the map below to answer question 6.
6. Tasha leaves her house and walks to school each morning. In which direction does she travel?
A. southeast
B. northeast
C. southwest
D. northwest
ANSWER: D
7. What is the state tree of Georgia?
A. live oak
B. dogwood
C. white pine
D. sugar maple
ANSWER: A
8. The governor is the leader of a
A. city.
B. state.
C. town.
D. country.
ANSWER: B
9. Which of the following statements is an opinion, not a fact?
A. Schools are part of our communities.
B. Middle school is better than elementary school.88
C. Reading, math, and history are subjects in school.
D. Some children ride a school bus to and from school.
ANSWER: B
10. Which of the following is an example of a law?
A. Do not eat snacks after school.
B. Get to the school bus on time.
C. Stop your bike at all stop signs.
D. Do not ride a bike when it is raining.
ANSWER: C
SOCIAL STUDIES – GRADE 4
1. In 1814 Francis Scott Key watched as the British attacked Fort McHenry at the entrance of Baltimore’s harbor. The attack took place all night, and when Key saw the American flag still flying, he was moved to write the following:
“O, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming? . . ”.
These words are from
A. “My Country ’Tis of Thee.”
B. “America the Beautiful.”
C. “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
D. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
ANSWER: C
Use the graph below to answer question 2.
2. The bar graph shows the population of major U.S. cities. Which city has a population of 3,500,000?
A. Houston
B. Los Angeles
C. Chicago
D. Philadelphia
ANSWER: B
3. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Because of this, the colonies would now be called
A. territories.
B. countries.
C. nations.
D. states.
ANSWER: D
4. The English settlement at Jamestown was started in 1607. The early years were very difficult until changes were made by
A. John Smith.
B. William Penn.
C. James Oglethorpe.
D. William Bradford.
ANSWER: A
5. Which right is listed in the Bill of Rights?
A. the right to work
B. the right to a house
C. the right to worship
E. the right to free health care
ANSWER: C
6. During the 1400s Europeans were trading with Asia. The land route was long and dangerous. To avoid the danger, Europeans
A. formed military treaties to fight the Asians.
B. decided to search for a water route to Asia.88
C. stopped trading for Asian goods.
D. forced the Asians to bring goods to Europe.
ANSWER: B
Use the map below to answer question 7.
7. Look at the map. Which city is northwest of Macon?
A. Columbus
B. Augusta
C. Atlanta
D. Valdosta
ANSWER: C
Use the maps below to answer questions 8 and 9
8. Compare the two maps. In which present-day state would the Cherokee nation be found?
A. Illinois (IL)
B. Indiana (IN)
C. North Carolina (NC)
D. Louisiana (LA)
ANSWER: C
9. Look at the two maps. In which present-day state was the Choctaw nation located?
A. Tennessee (TN)
B. Florida (FL)
C. South Carolina (SC)
D. Louisiana (LA)
ANSWER: D
10. The holiday that was created to remember the men and women who have died at war fighting for their country is
A. Labor Day.
B. Presidents’ Day.
C. Columbus Day.
D. Memorial Day.
ANSWER: D
SOCIAL STUDIES – GRADE 5
1. One of the major goals of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was to end segregation. What is segregation?
A. the act of people deciding issues by majority vote
B. the act of moving people from one place to another
C. the process of keeping people separate based on race
D. the process of bringing people of different races together
ANSWER: C
2. Supply and demand affect goods and services in an economy. If people decide to buy more of a product, producers will MOST likely decide to
A. make more of the product.
B. change the name of the product.
C. make less of the product.
D. lower the cost of the product.
ANSWER: A
Use the information below to answer question 3
3. This person was
A. Stonewall Jackson.
B. Robert E. Lee.
C. Jeb Stuart.
D. Jefferson Davis.
ANSWER: B
4. Many pioneers on the western plains made their houses out of sod. Sod is pieces of grass dug out of the ground with roots and dirt still attached. Making houses out of sod is an example of
A. supply and demand.
B. using scarce resources.
C. production and consumption.
D. using available resources.
ANSWER: D
5. During the late 1800s and early 1900s new, large industries changed America. One of the MOST important new industries during this time was the
A. steel industry.
B. nuclear industry.
C. textile industry.
D. computer industry.
ANSWER: A
6. The Seventeenth Amendment was one of the progressive reform amendments added to the Constitution in 1913. It gave the people in the states the right to vote for their United States senators. Why was this important?
A. It allowed the people to have more say in their government.
B. It was needed because senators held office for life.
C. It meant that the people had less say in their government.
D. It was needed to keep members of both the House and the Senate the same.
ANSWER: A
7. Since World War II, the United States has fought two wars in Asia to stop the spread of Communism. The two wars were in
A. Korea and China.
B. Vietnam and Korea.
C. China and Japan.
D. Vietnam and Japan.
ANSWER: B
8. Which of the following is one of the MAIN purposes of a labor union?
A. to prevent workers from striking
B. to give less power to factory workers
C. to make sure only skilled workers are employed
D. to protect workers from harsh working conditions
ANSWER: D
9. One of the major causes of damage to buildings, the land, and bodies of water is acid rain. What causes acid rain?
A. Pollutants from automobile fumes combine with precipitation.
B. Rain falls on sanitary landfills and becomes polluted from the materials being stored.
C. Rivers and lakes near mining operations become polluted with the materials used in digging.
D. Water is used in making nuclear energy, and this water contains nuclear wastes.
ANSWER: A
10. Maps and globes have lines that provide the reader with important information. For
example, one of the lines is the Prime Meridian. It is a line running north to south that divides the world into
A. arid and wet regions.
B. Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
C. arctic and tropical regions.
D. Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
ANSWER: D
