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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 18 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.
  • Tens of millions of bison roam the Plains (early 1800s)
  • Fewer than a thousand bison are left (late 1880s)
  • Bison herds are slowly rebuilt in parks and on tribal lands (1900s)
  • Hunters kill bison by the millions for their hides (1870s)
2.How did the railroad change the Plains?
  • A.It made the Plains empty of people
  • B.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets
  • C.It ran only from north to south
3.What new kind of plow helped farmers break the thick prairie sod?
  • A.A wooden spoon
  • B.A paddle wheel
  • C.A steel plow
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.What did the US government force many Plains nations to do?
  • A.Become railroad owners
  • B.Move onto reservations
  • C.Move to Europe
6.How did barbed wire change the Plains?
  • A.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range
  • B.It carried messages across the Plains
  • C.It made the bison herds grow

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 1, 4, 2, 3
  2. 2.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets
  3. 3.A steel plow
  4. 4.They pumped water up from deep underground
  5. 5.Move onto reservations
  6. 6.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range

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