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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 16 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.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
3.What did the US government force many Plains nations to do?
  • A.Become railroad owners
  • B.Move onto reservations
  • C.Move to Europe
4.Which is true of Plains nations today?
  • A.None of them still exist
  • B.They all live in Europe
  • C.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
5.What did the Homestead Act of 1862 offer?
  • A.Free train tickets to California
  • B.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
  • C.Gold to anyone who found it
6.Why did the bison almost disappear from the Plains?
  • A.The bison all moved to Europe
  • B.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
  • C.One long winter froze them all

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 1, 3, 2, 4
  2. 2.They pumped water up from deep underground
  3. 3.Move onto reservations
  4. 4.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
  5. 5.160 acres of land to settlers who lived on it and farmed it
  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.