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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 3 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.
  • Hunters kill bison by the millions for their hides (1870s)
  • Fewer than a thousand bison are left (late 1880s)
  • Tens of millions of bison roam the Plains (early 1800s)
  • Bison herds are slowly rebuilt in parks and on tribal lands (1900s)
2.How did the railroad change the Plains?
  • A.It made the Plains empty of people
  • B.It ran only from north to south
  • C.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets
3.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
4.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
5.Which nations lived on the Great Plains?
  • A.The Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche and Pawnee, among others
  • B.The Haida and Tlingit
  • C.The Hopi and Zuni
6.How did barbed wire change the Plains?
  • A.It made the bison herds grow
  • B.It carried messages across the Plains
  • C.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 3 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 3. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 3, 1, 2, 4
  2. 2.It brought settlers and carried crops and cattle to markets
  3. 3.They pumped water up from deep underground
  4. 4.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
  5. 5.The Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche and Pawnee, among others
  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.