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Building the Nation's Capital is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how Washington, D.C. was planned and grew from fields into a capital, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.5.3-5. 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.

Building the Nation's Capital

D2.Geo.5.3-5

NameDate

Read the information text and answer its questions, then circle the best answers.

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

L'Enfant's Plan for the Capital

An information text written for this worksheet. In 1790 Congress decided to build a new capital city beside the Potomac River. President George Washington chose the exact place and asked Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, a French-born engineer who had fought in the American Revolution, to design it. At the time the land was mostly farms, fields and woods. In 1791 L'Enfant drew a plan. He placed the Capitol, where Congress meets, on a hill, and the President's House about a mile and a half away, joined by a wide avenue. Streets ran north to south and east to west like a grid, and wide avenues crossed them on a slant, meeting at circles and squares. A long open park, now the National Mall, stretched west from the Capitol. Enslaved workers, as well as free workers, did much of the work of building the Capitol and the President's House. L'Enfant argued with the leaders in charge of the city and was dismissed in 1792, but the city was later built mostly on his plan.

  1. 1. Why might L'Enfant have put the Capitol on a hill?
  2. 2. What was the land like before the city was built?
  3. 3. Which river is the capital beside?
  4. 4. Where did L'Enfant place the Capitol?
2.What is the National Mall today?
  • A.An indoor shopping center
  • B.A farm for growing wheat
  • C.A long park lined with museums and monuments
3.Who lived on the land where Washington, D.C. now stands, long before the city?
  • A.French soldiers
  • B.Settlers from Spain
  • C.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
4.Who is the city of Washington, D.C. named after?
  • A.Washington State
  • B.A river in Maryland
  • C.George Washington, the first President
5.Which building did L'Enfant plan for the top of a hill?
  • A.The Capitol, where Congress meets
  • B.A sports stadium
  • C.A train station
6.How has Washington, D.C. changed since 1791?
  • A.It moved to another river
  • B.It shrank into a small village
  • C.It grew from fields and woods into a large city

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Building the Nation's Capital

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. So the building where Congress meets could be seen from far across the city. 2. Mostly farms, fields and woods. 3. The Potomac River. 4. On a hill.
  2. 2.A long park lined with museums and monuments
  3. 3.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  4. 4.George Washington, the first President
  5. 5.The Capitol, where Congress meets
  6. 6.It grew from fields and woods into a large city

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.