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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 23 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.Why did many nations in the East grow corn, beans and squash together?
  • A.They were the only plants allowed by law
  • B.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  • C.They needed no water or sun
2.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
3.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
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.Before horses came, what did dogs pull for Plains peoples?
  • A.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  • B.Wagons on iron rails
  • C.Mail carts
6.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
7.Cahokia, near today's St. Louis, was a large city around the year 1100. Who built it?
  • A.French fur traders
  • B.Spanish settlers
  • C.Mississippian people
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 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Life in North America Before 1492

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The plants help each other grow, and together they make a healthy diet
  2. 2.They built cedar plank houses and fished for salmon
  3. 3.Rain was scarce and their crops depended on it
  4. 4.On foot, sometimes driving herds over cliffs
  5. 5.Loads on wooden frames called travois
  6. 6.They built homes in cliffs and stored water and crops
  7. 7.Mississippian people
  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.