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Firsthand and Secondhand is a free printable Grade 4 English worksheet on telling the two kinds of account apart, aligned to Common Core standard RI.4.6. 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 5 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.

Firsthand and Secondhand

RI.4.6

NameDate

Tick the right answer.

1.Should a historian use only one kind of account?
  • A.Yes, secondhand only
  • B.No — each supplies what the other cannot
  • C.Yes, firsthand only
2.What can a firsthand account give that a secondhand one usually cannot?
  • A.A balanced overview
  • B.What it felt like to be there
  • C.Accurate totals
3.A firsthand account says "I was the one who said it was nothing." What does the "I" tell you?
  • A.The writer was involved in the events
  • B.The writer is guessing
  • C.The account is fiction
4.What makes an account firsthand?
  • A.It is written by somebody who was there
  • B.It is longer
  • C.It is written first
5.Which account would you use to know what the night was like?
  • A.The secondhand report
  • B.Neither
  • C.The firsthand diary
6.Which is most likely to be firsthand?
  • A.An encyclopaedia article
  • B.A textbook chapter
  • C.A diary entry written that night
7.Which is most likely to be secondhand?
  • A.A letter written the same week
  • B.A photograph taken at the time
  • C.A report written years later from records
8.What can a secondhand account give that a firsthand one usually cannot?
  • A.The whole picture, including what one person could not see
  • B.Personal feelings
  • C.Direct speech

LessonPrint · RI.4.6 · Set 5 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Firsthand and Secondhand

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.No — each supplies what the other cannot
  2. 2.What it felt like to be there
  3. 3.The writer was involved in the events
  4. 4.It is written by somebody who was there
  5. 5.The firsthand diary
  6. 6.A diary entry written that night
  7. 7.A report written years later from records
  8. 8.The whole picture, including what one person could not see

More practice for RI.4.6

Compare an eyewitness account with a second-hand one.

Teaching this next? Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 4 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.4.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.