Worksheet

Three Colonial Regions at the Harvest Market

Read about three colonial regions at a farmers market and compare how land, climate, and waterways shaped their livelihoods.

Grade 5Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toECO.5.1

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1 C3 Framework standard
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14 questions
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Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare how New England, Middle, and Southern geography shaped colonial livelihoods.
Students connect regional land, climate, and waterways to colonial goods and work.

How to use

Read the passage together, then have students use details about land, climate, and waterways to complete the comparisons and explain their reasoning.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

ECO.5.1

Compare how the New England, Middle and Southern colonies made a living based on their geography.

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Three Colonial Regions at the Harvest Market

Compare how geography shaped colonial work and goods.

Read the market guide

Read the guide to the three colonial regions. Then answer the questions.

Why Colonial Stalls Looked Different

1At the Three-Region Harvest Market, a history group is making signs for three colonial stalls. The stalls represent New England, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. Each region had farms, but people did not make a living in exactly the same ways. Land, climate, forests, rivers, and the coast affected the choices people made.

2The New England colonies included Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Much of the land had thin, rocky soil, and winters were cold. The growing season was shorter than in the colonies farther south. Many families had small farms that grew some food. Forests supplied lumber, and the coast offered fishing and shipping. Shipbuilding and coastal trade also became important. A New England stall might show dried fish, boards, and a small wooden boat.

3The Middle colonies included New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. They had broad, fertile valleys and a milder climate with a longer growing season. Farmers grew wheat, barley, oats, and corn. They also raised livestock. Because farms could often grow more grain than one family needed, farmers sold extra grain. Rivers, mills, and ports helped move and process these goods. A Middle colonies stall might show sacks of grain and a barrel ready for shipment.

4The Southern colonies included Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Warm conditions and a long growing season supported crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo, especially in suitable coastal areas. Rivers and other waterways helped move crops toward ports. Large farms and plantations produced many goods for sale. Plantations often relied on the forced labor of enslaved Africans and African Americans. Smaller farms also existed, and some people raised livestock or worked in forests.

5The three regions were connected to trade, yet their main goods and kinds of work often differed. New England's rocky soil and short season made a mix of work useful. The Middle colonies' fertile land favored grain farming. The Southern colonies' warm climate and long season supported several cash crops. Geography did not decide every person's job, but it strongly influenced the opportunities and choices available in each region.

Which display best fits a New England colonial stall?

A. A basket of rice and indigo from warm coastal fields
B. A wagon of wheat and barley from a broad valley
C. Dried fish, sawn boards, and a small boat
D. A load of tobacco leaves from a long warm season

Word bank: grain · fish · rice · lumber

The Middle colonies could grow large amounts of because of their fertile land and longer growing season.

Match each region to the group of work or goods that best fits it.

New England
Middle colonies
Southern colonies

A. Tobacco, rice, and indigo from large farms and plantations
B. Wheat, barley, oats, livestock, mills, and grain trade
C. Fishing, lumber, shipbuilding, and coastal trade

Why could Middle colonies farmers often sell grain beyond their own farms?

A. Fertile valleys and a longer growing season could produce extra grain.
B. Rocky soil and cold winters prevented most crop growing.
C. A warm coastal climate made rice the main crop in inland valleys.
D. Forests made shipbuilding more common than grain farming.

Select the TWO details that help explain why New England families used work besides farming.

Much of the soil was thin and rocky.The region had broad, fertile valleys.Winters were cold and the growing season was short.The region had a long warm season for rice.

Compare geography and livelihoods

Use the market guide to sort clues and make comparisons.

Sort each geography clue into the colonial region it best describes.

Thin, rocky soil and cold wintersBroad, fertile river valleys and a milder climateWarm conditions and a long growing seasonForests and many coastal resourcesFarmland suited to wheat, barley, and oatsCoastal plains and waterways suited to rice

New England	Middle colonies	Southern colonies

A colonial family lives beside a broad river valley with mild summers. It grows wheat and sends extra grain downriver. Which region is the best match?

A. New England
B. Southern colonies
C. A region known mainly for rocky soil
D. Middle colonies

If a Southern coastal waterway became difficult to use for a season, what would most likely be harder?

A. More New England families would plant rice.
B. Southern cash crops would be harder to carry to buyers.
C. Middle farmers would lose their fertile valleys.
D. Rocky New England soil would become easier to farm.

Select the TWO statements that accurately compare the regions.

New England's shorter growing season made fishing and forest work more important alongside small farms.The Middle colonies' fertile valleys supported grain that could be sold beyond the farm.Southern colonies had cool, rocky ground, so shipbuilding was their main work.People in all three regions chose one identical main crop.

10.

A market planner wants a sign explaining why being near the coast did not lead every colony to the same main livelihood. Which statement belongs on the sign?

A. Coastal colonies mostly grew rice because ships could carry it to buyers overseas.
B. The coast kept people in the colonies from farming.
C. Soil, climate, and nearby resources differed, so coastal regions developed different kinds of work.
D. People near the coast chose their work without paying attention to land or climate.

Use the evidence

Apply the ideas from the guide to new examples and explain your thinking.

11.

What does the guide show about goods from Southern plantations?

A. They came mainly from small family farms that grew wheat and oats in cool valleys.
B. They were mostly grain crops grown in the fertile Middle colonies.
C. They were wooden boats and boards built in New England shipyards.
D. Warm conditions supported crops, and plantations often relied on enslaved labor.

12.

Word bank: grain · rocky · warm · fishing

The Middle colonies were known for farming, while New England's soil made fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding important.

13.

A student says, “Since New England had farms, its economy should have looked like the Southern colonies.” Which answer best uses the guide to respond?

A. New England's rocky soil and shorter season favored a mix of small farming, fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding.
B. New England's warm climate made tobacco and rice its main crops.
C. Southern colonies had shorter growing seasons, so forests supplied most sales.
D. Middle colonies had few farms, so they bought food from New England.

14.

Use evidence from the guide to compare how geography shaped livelihoods in New England and either the Middle or Southern colonies. Name one geographic feature in each region and connect each feature to work or goods.