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 17 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 map drawn by an explorer on her journey, a newspaper report written on the day of the flood, a magazine article about the history of the railway, a sports historian's book about the club, a ticket from the first train to run on the line, a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge, a history book about floods in the region, a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage, a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later, a letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a recording of the crowd at the final match, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a school attendance list from 1920, a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, a website summing up the mayor's career
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 2. a magazine article about the history of the railway — Secondary source 3. a map drawn by an explorer on her journey — Primary source 4. a newspaper report written on the day of the flood — 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
2.1. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 2. a history book about floods in the region — Secondary source 3. a letter a soldier wrote home during the war — Primary source 4. a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair — Secondary source 5. a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge — Primary source 6. a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later — Secondary source
3.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route — 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 school attendance list from 1920 — Primary source 6. a website summing up the mayor's career — Secondary source
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.5.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.