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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 2 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.Which is true of the peoples of North America before 1492?
  • A.No one lived in North America
  • B.There were hundreds of nations with different languages and ways of life
  • C.They all spoke one language
2.Which crop, first grown by people in Mexico, spread across much of North America?
  • A.Rice
  • B.Corn, also called maize
  • C.Wheat
3.Why did many nations in the East grow corn, beans and squash together?
  • A.They needed no water or sun
  • B.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  • C.They were the only plants allowed by law
4.Why did many Southwest peoples hold ceremonies for rain?
  • A.Rain fell every day there
  • B.They wanted floods
  • C.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
5.Before horses came, what did dogs pull for Plains peoples?
  • A.Mail carts
  • B.Wagons on iron rails
  • C.Loads on wooden frames called travois
6.Why did nations in different regions live in such different homes?
  • A.One ruler told them all what to build
  • B.Each used the materials and climate of its own land
  • C.They all lived in the same kind of home
7.What did the people of Cahokia build out of earth?
  • A.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  • B.Brick towers
  • C.Stone castles with moats
8.How did Ancestral Puebloans adapt to the dry Southwest?
  • A.They built homes in cliffs and stored water and crops
  • B.They fished for salmon in the ocean
  • C.They built igloos

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.4.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.There were hundreds of nations with different languages and ways of life
  2. 2.Corn, also called maize
  3. 3.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  4. 4.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  5. 5.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  6. 6.Each used the materials and climate of its own land
  7. 7.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  8. 8.They built homes in cliffs and stored water and crops

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