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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 19 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.
  • The Lakota and their allies defeat US soldiers at the Little Bighorn (1876)
  • US soldiers kill hundreds of Lakota at Wounded Knee (1890)
  • The US Army forces most Plains nations onto reservations (late 1870s)
  • The Dawes Act splits reservation land into family plots (1887)
2.Why was the loss of the bison so harmful to Plains nations?
  • A.They depended on bison for food, clothing and shelter
  • B.They had never hunted bison
  • C.Bison were only used for racing
3.What new kind of plow helped farmers break the thick prairie sod?
  • A.A paddle wheel
  • B.A wooden spoon
  • C.A steel plow
4.How did barbed wire change the Plains?
  • A.It made the bison herds grow
  • B.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range
  • C.It carried messages across the Plains
5.Which is true of Plains nations today?
  • A.They all live in Europe
  • B.None of them still exist
  • C.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
6.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

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 19 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 19. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 1, 3, 4, 2
  2. 2.They depended on bison for food, clothing and shelter
  3. 3.A steel plow
  4. 4.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range
  5. 5.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
  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.