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Two Views of the Plains is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on why settlers and Plains nations saw the same land differently, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.His.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.

Two Views of the Plains

D2.His.4.3-5

NameDate

Choose the best answer.

1.Railroads printed posters promising settlers good farmland. Whose view do such posters show?
  • A.The bison hunters'
  • B.The railroads', which wanted to sell land and tickets
  • C.The Lakota's
2.Why did a bison hunter in the 1870s see the herds as a way to make money?
  • A.Hides sold for high prices in eastern cities
  • B.Bison were worth nothing
  • C.He wanted to feed Plains nations
3.A homesteader saw the prairie as empty land waiting for farms. How did the Lakota see it?
  • A.As land they had never visited
  • B.As their homeland and hunting grounds, already in use
  • C.As a place to build factories
4.A US Army officer saw reservations as a way to end fighting. How did many Plains peoples see them?
  • A.As a loss of freedom, land and their way of life
  • B.As a summer camp
  • C.As a gift they had asked for
5.Many Plains nations held land in common. How was this different from settlers' ideas?
  • A.Settlers believed land should be owned by single families
  • B.Settlers shared all of their land
  • C.Settlers believed no one should use land
6.Why did Plains nations see the killing of the bison as a disaster?
  • A.They wanted the bison gone
  • B.They did not use bison
  • C.Without the bison, their whole way of life could not go on
7.Why did settlers want land fenced with barbed wire?
  • A.To keep trains off the land
  • B.To protect their crops and mark their own property
  • C.To help the bison herds
8.Settlers saw the railroad as progress. Why did many Plains nations see it as a threat?
  • A.It was too slow
  • B.It brought hunters and settlers onto their lands and drove off the bison
  • C.It took them to their families

LessonPrint · D2.His.4.3-5 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Two Views of the Plains

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The railroads', which wanted to sell land and tickets
  2. 2.Hides sold for high prices in eastern cities
  3. 3.As their homeland and hunting grounds, already in use
  4. 4.As a loss of freedom, land and their way of life
  5. 5.Settlers believed land should be owned by single families
  6. 6.Without the bison, their whole way of life could not go on
  7. 7.To protect their crops and mark their own property
  8. 8.It brought hunters and settlers onto their lands and drove off the bison

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