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Why They Stayed and Why They Moved 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 16 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 Stayed and Why They Moved

D2.Geo.6.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.Why were new estates built on the edges of cities?
  • A.Edges are prettier
  • B.Cleared central land was limited and edge land was available
  • C.Centres were forbidden
2.Why did some villages lose people in this period?
  • A.Work and new housing were both concentrated in the cities
  • B.Farms were banned
  • C.Villages are cold
3.What would you need to explain a district's population change properly?
  • A.The district's name
  • B.The weather
  • C.Where the work was and where the new homes were built
4.Why did a family live four to a room rather than move?
  • A.Moving was banned
  • B.They preferred it
  • C.There was nowhere else within reach of the work
5.Why does a district with cleared land not automatically fill first?
  • A.Nobody wants it
  • B.Cleared land is unsafe
  • C.Materials and labour also have to be allocated to it
6.What made building upward attractive in some cities and not others?
  • A.How much land was left, and whether the city could spread
  • B.Local taste in bricks
  • C.The height of the hills
7.Why do people stay in a damaged district?
  • A.Work, family and the cost of moving all hold them there
  • B.They are not told
  • C.They cannot travel
8.Why did people crowd into cities after 1946 despite the damage?
  • A.Villages were closed
  • B.The work was there, and rebuilding itself created more of it
  • C.Cities are warmer

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Why They Stayed and Why They Moved

Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Cleared central land was limited and edge land was available
  2. 2.Work and new housing were both concentrated in the cities
  3. 3.Where the work was and where the new homes were built
  4. 4.There was nowhere else within reach of the work
  5. 5.Materials and labour also have to be allocated to it
  6. 6.How much land was left, and whether the city could spread
  7. 7.Work, family and the cost of moving all hold them there
  8. 8.The work was there, and rebuilding itself created more of it

More practice for D2.Geo.6.3-5

Describe why people live where they live.

Teaching this next? Why They Stayed and Why They Moved is the 55-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.