Skip to content
LessonPrint

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.

Set 12 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.

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. Who asked L'Enfant to design the capital?
  2. 2. What was the land like before the city was built?
  3. 3. Who did much of the work of building the Capitol and the President's House?
  4. 4. Why was L'Enfant dismissed in 1792?
2.What does D.C. stand for in Washington, D.C.?
  • A.District of Columbia
  • B.Division of Capitals
  • C.Department of Congress
3.What did L'Enfant's wide avenues and circles give the city?
  • A.Open spaces and long views between important buildings
  • B.A tall wall around the city
  • C.Only narrow, crowded alleys
4.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
5.Who lived on the land where Washington, D.C. now stands, long before the city?
  • A.Settlers from Spain
  • B.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  • C.French soldiers
6.Which building did L'Enfant plan for the top of a hill?
  • A.A sports stadium
  • B.A train station
  • C.The Capitol, where Congress meets

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Building the Nation's Capital

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. President George Washington. 2. Mostly farms, fields and woods. 3. Enslaved workers, as well as free workers. 4. He argued with the leaders in charge of the city.
  2. 2.District of Columbia
  3. 3.Open spaces and long views between important buildings
  4. 4.A long park lined with museums and monuments
  5. 5.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  6. 6.The Capitol, where Congress meets

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