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The Great Law of Peace is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on the purposes of the Haudenosaunee Great Law, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Civ.3.3-5. It prints 6 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.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

The Great Law of Peace

D2.Civ.3.3-5

NameDate

Read the text and answer the questions. Then choose the best answers.

1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

The Great Law of Peace

An information text written for this worksheet. The Great Law is an oral tradition, passed down by speaking, so this text retells some of its main ideas rather than quoting it. The Haudenosaunee, also called the Iroquois, are nations whose homelands are in what is now New York State and nearby lands. Haudenosaunee tradition tells that long ago their five nations were often at war with one another. A man known as the Peacemaker, helped by a leader named Hiawatha, carried a message of peace from nation to nation. The nations agreed to the Great Law of Peace. It set up a Grand Council, where chiefs from every nation meet to decide matters they share. Under the Great Law, decisions are talked over until the chiefs agree. Clan mothers choose the chiefs and can remove a chief who does not serve the people well. The symbol of the Great Law is a white pine, the Tree of Peace. Its roots spread in four directions so that other peoples could follow them to peace. The Haudenosaunee still follow the Great Law today.

  1. 1. Why does the provenance line say the text retells the Great Law rather than quoting it?
  2. 2. What is the symbol of the Great Law?
  3. 3. Who chooses the chiefs under the Great Law?
  4. 4. What was the purpose of the Grand Council?
2.Which problem was the Great Law of Peace made to solve?
  • A.Too many roads
  • B.War among the five nations
  • C.A shortage of horses
3.Why might a rule say every nation must agree before the council acts?
  • A.So one nation decides for all
  • B.So smaller nations are not forced into decisions
  • C.So the council can act without talking
4.Which word means a union of nations that keep some of their own powers?
  • A.Confederacy
  • B.Kingdom
  • C.Colony
5.Under the Great Law, each nation still runs its own affairs at home. Why might that be?
  • A.So one nation rules the rest
  • B.So the nations never speak to each other
  • C.So each nation keeps its own ways while sharing big decisions
6.Which is a purpose of almost every law, including the Great Law?
  • A.To make sure people never meet
  • B.To help people live together peacefully
  • C.To punish people whatever they do

LessonPrint · D2.Civ.3.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Great Law of Peace

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Because the Great Law is an oral tradition, passed down by speaking. 2. A white pine, the Tree of Peace. 3. The clan mothers. 4. For chiefs from every nation to meet and decide matters they share.
  2. 2.War among the five nations
  3. 3.So smaller nations are not forced into decisions
  4. 4.Confederacy
  5. 5.So each nation keeps its own ways while sharing big decisions
  6. 6.To help people live together peacefully

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Civ.3.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.