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 16 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 children's book retelling the scientist's discovery, a ticket from the first train to run on the line, a recording of the crowd at the final match, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward, a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a sports historian's book about the club, a school attendance list from 1920, a map drawn by an explorer on her journey, the speech the mayor gave at the opening, a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route, a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge, a class report about schools long ago, a scientist's notebook from her experiment, an online reference article about the bridge, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a history book about floods in the region
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 3. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 4. a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward — Secondary source 5. a recording of the crowd at the final match — Primary source 6. a ticket from the first train to run on the line — 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 museum guide explaining the 1908 fair — Secondary source 4. a school attendance list from 1920 — Primary source 5. a sports historian's book about the club — Secondary source 6. the speech the mayor gave at the opening — Primary source
3.1. a class report about schools long ago — Secondary source 2. a history book about floods in the region — Secondary source 3. a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge — Primary source 4. a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908 — Primary source 5. a scientist's notebook from her experiment — 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.