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 10 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Primary or Secondary Source?
RI.5.6
NameDate
Sort each one into the right column.
1.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: the speech the mayor gave at the opening, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a magazine article about the history of the railway, a school attendance list from 1920, a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair, a history book about floods in the region
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge, a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later, a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage, a recording of the crowd at the final match, 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 letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward, an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse, a scientist's notebook from her experiment, a sports historian's book about the club
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a history book about floods in the region — Secondary source 2. a magazine article about the history of the railway — Secondary source 3. a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair — Secondary source 4. a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908 — Primary source 5. a school attendance list from 1920 — Primary source 6. the speech the mayor gave at the opening — Primary source
2.1. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 2. a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route — Secondary source 3. a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge — Primary source 4. a recording of the crowd at the final match — Primary source 5. a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later — Secondary 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 letter a soldier wrote home during the war — Primary source 4. a scientist's notebook from her experiment — Primary source 5. a sports historian's book about the club — Secondary source 6. an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse — Primary source
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.5.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.