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Why They Settled There is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on why population is distributed as it is, aligned to Common Core standard D2.Geo.6.3-5. 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 pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 14 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.

Why They Settled There

D2.Geo.6.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Why did a village grow beside the coalfield?
  • A.It was quiet
  • B.There was work at the pits and coal to burn
  • C.The land was flat
2.Why did people settle at the river crossing rather than a mile upstream?
  • A.The water tasted better
  • B.Everybody travelling had to pass there, so trade gathered
  • C.The sun rose earlier
3.Why do people settle on flat river meadow despite floods?
  • A.The soil is rich and produces good crops
  • B.Floods are useful
  • C.Rivers are warm
4.Two valleys have the same soil; one has far more people. What might explain it?
  • A.One is older
  • B.One has a route through it and the other does not
  • C.One is greener
5.Why does a market town hold more people than the villages round it?
  • A.It has better weather
  • B.It offers trades and services the villages come to use
  • C.Villages are illegal
6.Why do few people live high on the moor?
  • A.Thin soil and hard weather make a living difficult there
  • B.It is too flat
  • C.The view is poor
7.Why did the wharf houses empty after 1850?
  • A.The work that had kept those families there had moved to the railway
  • B.The houses fell down
  • C.The canal was filled
8.Why did houses appear near the station after 1846?
  • A.There was new work there and a way to travel from it
  • B.Land was free
  • C.Trains are pretty

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 14 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Why They Settled There

Set 14. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.There was work at the pits and coal to burn
  2. 2.Everybody travelling had to pass there, so trade gathered
  3. 3.The soil is rich and produces good crops
  4. 4.One has a route through it and the other does not
  5. 5.It offers trades and services the villages come to use
  6. 6.Thin soil and hard weather make a living difficult there
  7. 7.The work that had kept those families there had moved to the railway
  8. 8.There was new work there and a way to travel from it

More practice for D2.Geo.6.3-5

Describe why people live where they live.

Teaching this next? Why They Settled Where They Did is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.6.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.