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 15 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.

Measuring the Edges of the Capital

An information text written for this worksheet. Before a city can be built, its edges must be measured and marked. In 1791 Andrew Ellicott, a surveyor, was hired to measure the boundary of the new federal district, a square ten miles on each side. He hired Benjamin Banneker, a free African American astronomer and mathematician from Maryland, to help. Banneker watched the stars at night with a telescope to fix exact points, and he looked after the clock used for the measurements. The team placed 40 boundary stones, about one every mile along the edges of the square. Banneker worked on the survey for about three months before returning home, where he wrote and published almanacs. Many of the boundary stones still stand today.

  1. 1. How many boundary stones did the team place?
  2. 2. Why did the team place boundary stones?
  3. 3. Why did Ellicott want an astronomer on his team?
  4. 4. What shape was the new federal district?
2.In what year did Congress first meet in the new city of Washington?
  • A.1776
  • B.1800
  • C.1865
3.Who lived on the land where Washington, D.C. now stands, long before the city?
  • A.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  • B.Settlers from Spain
  • C.French soldiers
4.What is the National Mall today?
  • A.A farm for growing wheat
  • B.An indoor shopping center
  • C.A long park lined with museums and monuments
5.What does D.C. stand for in Washington, D.C.?
  • A.District of Columbia
  • B.Department of Congress
  • C.Division of Capitals
6.How has Washington, D.C. changed since 1791?
  • A.It grew from fields and woods into a large city
  • B.It shrank into a small village
  • C.It moved to another river

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Building the Nation's Capital

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 40 boundary stones, about one every mile. 2. To mark the edges of the new federal district. 3. Banneker could watch the stars to fix exact points. 4. A square ten miles on each side.
  2. 2.1800
  3. 3.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank
  4. 4.A long park lined with museums and monuments
  5. 5.District of Columbia
  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.