Primary or Secondary Source? is a free printable Grade 5 English worksheet on telling a source made at the time from one written later, aligned to Common Core standard RI.5.6. It prints 3 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
1.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: the speech the mayor gave at the opening, a school attendance list from 1920, a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery, a website summing up the mayor's career, a letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a class report about schools long ago
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse, a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later, a newspaper report written on the day of the flood, a map drawn by an explorer on her journey, a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route, an online reference article about the bridge
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a recording of the crowd at the final match, a sports historian's book about the club, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a ticket from the first train to run on the line
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 2. a class report about schools long ago — Secondary source 3. a letter a soldier wrote home during the war — Primary source 4. a school attendance list from 1920 — Primary source 5. a website summing up the mayor's career — Secondary source 6. the speech the mayor gave at the opening — Primary source
2.1. a map drawn by an explorer on her journey — Primary source 2. a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route — Secondary source 3. a newspaper report written on the day of the flood — Primary source 4. a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later — Secondary source 5. an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse — Primary source 6. an online reference article about the bridge — Secondary source
3.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward — Secondary source 3. a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908 — Primary source 4. a recording of the crowd at the final match — Primary source 5. a sports historian's book about the club — Secondary source 6. a ticket from the first train to run on the line — Primary source
Questions about Primary or Secondary Source?
What does the Primary or Secondary Source? worksheet cover?
It practices telling a source made at the time from one written later — 3 questions for Grade 5, all on Common Core RI.5.6: Compare several accounts of one event and the viewpoints behind them. The instruction to students is “Sort each one into the right column”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does Primary or Secondary Source? practice?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6 — RI.5.6, under Reading: Informational Text for Grade 5. The published standard reads: “Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Primary or Secondary Source? is written for Grade 5, typically ages 10-11. It is one of the sheets on RI.5.6, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Primary or Secondary Source? come with an answer key?
Yes. All 3 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Primary or Secondary Source? can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Primary or Secondary Source? free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Primary or Secondary Source?, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for RI.5.6
Compare several accounts of one event and the viewpoints behind them.