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

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.5.3-5 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Building the Nation's Capital

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. He argued with the leaders in charge of the city. 2. Mostly farms, fields and woods. 3. So the building where Congress meets could be seen from far across the city. 4. The Potomac River.
  2. 2.District of Columbia
  3. 3.Open spaces and long views between important buildings
  4. 4.The Capitol, where Congress meets
  5. 5.George Washington, the first President
  6. 6.American Indian peoples, such as the Nacotchtank

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