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Life in North America Before 1492 is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how nations lived and traded before Europeans arrived, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.4.3-5. It prints 8 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 14 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.

Life in North America Before 1492

D2.Geo.4.3-5

NameDate

Choose the best answer.

1.About how many people may have lived in Cahokia at its largest?
  • A.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  • B.About 10 million
  • C.About 50
2.Why did nations in different regions live in such different homes?
  • A.Each used the materials and climate of its own land
  • B.One ruler told them all what to build
  • C.They all lived in the same kind of home
3.Why did many Southwest peoples hold ceremonies for rain?
  • A.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  • B.They wanted floods
  • C.Rain fell every day there
4.Which crop, first grown by people in Mexico, spread across much of North America?
  • A.Rice
  • B.Corn, also called maize
  • C.Wheat
5.Before Europeans brought horses, how did Plains peoples hunt bison?
  • A.On horseback with rifles
  • B.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  • C.From trains
6.Why did many nations in the East grow corn, beans and squash together?
  • A.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  • B.They were the only plants allowed by law
  • C.They needed no water or sun
7.What did the people of Cahokia build out of earth?
  • A.Brick towers
  • B.Stone castles with moats
  • C.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
8.How did the Hohokam farm the desert of what is now Arizona?
  • A.They dug long canals to bring river water to their fields
  • B.They planted rice in swamps
  • C.They waited for snow

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.4.3-5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  2. 2.Each used the materials and climate of its own land
  3. 3.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  4. 4.Corn, also called maize
  5. 5.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  6. 6.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  7. 7.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  8. 8.They dug long canals to bring river water to their fields

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.4.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.