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Changes on the Great Plains is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how the Plains changed for the nations who lived there, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.5.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 10 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Changes on the Great Plains

D2.Geo.5.3-5

NameDate

Number the events in order. Then choose the best answers.

1.Number these events from earliest to latest.
  • Chinese workers blast tunnels through the Sierra Nevada (1866)
  • The two lines meet at Promontory Summit, Utah (1869)
  • Work on the line begins in California (1863)
  • Congress passes the Pacific Railway Act (1862)
2.Why did many settlers on the Plains build houses from sod?
  • A.Sod was the law
  • B.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
  • C.Wood was too light
3.Why did the bison almost disappear from the Plains?
  • A.The bison all moved to Europe
  • B.One long winter froze them all
  • C.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
4.Which nations lived on the Great Plains?
  • A.The Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche and Pawnee, among others
  • B.The Hopi and Zuni
  • C.The Haida and Tlingit
5.What did the Homestead Act of 1862 offer?
  • A.Free train tickets to California
  • B.Gold to anyone who found it
  • C.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
6.How did the railroad change the Plains?
  • A.It ran only from north to south
  • B.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets
  • C.It made the Plains empty of people

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 4, 3, 1, 2
  2. 2.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
  3. 3.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
  4. 4.The Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche and Pawnee, among others
  5. 5.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
  6. 6.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.