Skip to content
LessonPrint

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 22 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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.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
2.What did the people of Cahokia build out of earth?
  • A.Stone castles with moats
  • B.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  • C.Brick towers
3.Before horses came, what did dogs pull for Plains peoples?
  • A.Wagons on iron rails
  • B.Mail carts
  • C.Loads on wooden frames called travois
4.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
5.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
6.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
7.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
8.How did peoples of the Pacific Northwest use their forests and rivers?
  • A.They built adobe pueblos
  • B.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon
  • C.They herded cattle and horses

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.4.3-5 · Set 22 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 22. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Mississippian people
  2. 2.Huge mounds, including Monks Mound
  3. 3.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  4. 4.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  5. 5.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  6. 6.There were hundreds of nations with different languages and ways of life
  7. 7.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  8. 8.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon

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