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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 8 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.Which is most likely to be firsthand?
  • A.A textbook chapter
  • B.A diary entry written that night
  • C.An encyclopaedia article
2.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
3.Should a historian use only one kind of account?
  • A.Yes, secondhand only
  • B.Yes, firsthand only
  • C.No — each supplies what the other cannot
4.Why might two accounts of one event disagree?
  • A.One of them must be lying
  • B.Accounts are always identical
  • C.Each saw a different part and thought different things mattered
5.What makes an account firsthand?
  • A.It is written first
  • B.It is written by somebody who was there
  • C.It is longer
6.What can a firsthand account give that a secondhand one usually cannot?
  • A.Accurate totals
  • B.What it felt like to be there
  • C.A balanced overview
7.Which account would you use to know what the night was like?
  • A.The firsthand diary
  • B.Neither
  • C.The secondhand report
8.Which account would you use to find out how many houses flooded?
  • A.Neither
  • B.The diary, which gives one house
  • C.The secondhand report, which gives totals

LessonPrint · RI.4.6 · Set 8 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Firsthand and Secondhand

Set 8. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.A diary entry written that night
  2. 2.A report written years later from records
  3. 3.No — each supplies what the other cannot
  4. 4.Each saw a different part and thought different things mattered
  5. 5.It is written by somebody who was there
  6. 6.What it felt like to be there
  7. 7.The firsthand diary
  8. 8.The secondhand report, which gives totals

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.