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

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.6.3-5 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Why They Stayed and Why They Moved

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.