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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 20 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.How did peoples of the Pacific Northwest use their forests and rivers?
  • A.They herded cattle and horses
  • B.They built adobe pueblos
  • C.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon
2.Which is true of the peoples of North America before 1492?
  • A.They all spoke one language
  • B.There were hundreds of nations with different languages and ways of life
  • C.No one lived in North America
3.Before Europeans brought horses, how did Plains peoples hunt bison?
  • A.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  • B.From trains
  • C.On horseback with rifles
4.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 waited for snow
  • C.They planted rice in swamps
5.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
6.Cahokia, near today's St. Louis, was a large city around the year 1100. Who built it?
  • A.Mississippian people
  • B.French fur traders
  • C.Spanish settlers
7.About how many people may have lived in Cahokia at its largest?
  • A.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  • B.About 50
  • C.About 10 million
8.Why did many Southwest peoples hold ceremonies for rain?
  • A.They wanted floods
  • B.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  • C.Rain fell every day there

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.4.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon
  2. 2.There were hundreds of nations with different languages and ways of life
  3. 3.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  4. 4.They dug long canals to bring river water to their fields
  5. 5.Each used the materials and climate of its own land
  6. 6.Mississippian people
  7. 7.Perhaps 10,000 to 20,000
  8. 8.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it

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