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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 8 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.
  • Work on the line begins in California (1863)
  • Congress passes the Pacific Railway Act (1862)
  • The two lines meet at Promontory Summit, Utah (1869)
  • Chinese workers blast tunnels through the Sierra Nevada (1866)
2.Which is true of Plains nations today?
  • A.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
  • B.None of them still exist
  • C.They all live in Europe
3.Why did the bison almost disappear from the Plains?
  • A.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
  • B.One long winter froze them all
  • C.The bison all moved to Europe
4.What did the US government force many Plains nations to do?
  • A.Move onto reservations
  • B.Move to Europe
  • C.Become railroad owners
5.Why did many settlers on the Plains build houses from sod?
  • A.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
  • B.Wood was too light
  • C.Sod was the law
6.How did barbed wire change the Plains?
  • A.It carried messages across the Plains
  • B.It made the bison herds grow
  • C.It let farmers fence land cheaply and closed the open range

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Changes on the Great Plains

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Correct order: 2, 1, 4, 3
  2. 2.Many, such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, keep their governments and traditions
  3. 3.Hunters killed millions of them for their hides and for sport
  4. 4.Move onto reservations
  5. 5.There were few trees on the prairie for lumber
  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.