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 11 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: a recording of the crowd at the final match, a class report about schools long ago, a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward, a scientist's notebook from her experiment, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, a map drawn by an explorer on her journey
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later, an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse, a magazine article about the history of the railway, a ticket from the first train to run on the line, a letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a newspaper report written on the day of the flood, a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage, a history book about floods in the region, an online reference article about the bridge
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a class report about schools long ago — Secondary source 3. a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward — Secondary source 4. a map drawn by an explorer on her journey — Primary source 5. a recording of the crowd at the final match — Primary source 6. a scientist's notebook from her experiment — Primary source
2.1. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 2. a letter a soldier wrote home during the war — Primary source 3. a magazine article about the history of the railway — Secondary source 4. a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later — Secondary source 5. a ticket from the first train to run on the line — Primary source 6. an interview with a woman who watched the eclipse — Primary source
3.1. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 2. a history book about floods in the region — Secondary source 3. a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route — Secondary source 4. a newspaper report written on the day of the flood — Primary source 5. a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908 — Primary source 6. an online reference article about the bridge — Secondary source
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.5.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.