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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 15 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.
  • Spanish horses spread to Plains nations (1600s and 1700s)
  • The first railroad across the country is finished (1869)
  • The Homestead Act offers Plains land to settlers (1862)
  • Joseph Glidden patents barbed wire (1874)
2.What new kind of plow helped farmers break the thick prairie sod?
  • A.A wooden spoon
  • B.A steel plow
  • C.A paddle wheel
3.What did the Homestead Act of 1862 offer?
  • A.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
  • B.Free train tickets to California
  • C.Gold to anyone who found it
4.How did windmills help Plains farmers?
  • A.They pumped water up from deep underground
  • B.They ground bison bones into flour
  • C.They kept the wind away
5.Why did many settlers on the Plains build houses from sod?
  • A.Sod was the law
  • B.Wood was too light
  • C.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
6.Why did the bison almost disappear from the Plains?
  • A.One long winter froze them all
  • B.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
  • C.The bison all moved to Europe

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 1, 3, 2, 4
  2. 2.A steel plow
  3. 3.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
  4. 4.They pumped water up from deep underground
  5. 5.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
  6. 6.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport

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