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 20 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 documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward, a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage, a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson, the speech the mayor gave at the opening, a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair, a ticket from the first train to run on the line
Primary sourceSecondary source
2.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery, a modern atlas page showing the explorer's route, a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge, a newspaper report written on the day of the flood, a map drawn by an explorer on her journey, an online reference article about the bridge
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.Sort each one: Primary source or Secondary source?
Sort: a website summing up the mayor's career, a letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a recording of the crowd at the final match, a textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later, a magazine article about the history of the railway
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 3. a documentary about the eclipse made fifty years afterward — Secondary source 4. a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair — Secondary source 5. a ticket from the first train to run on the line — Primary source 6. the speech the mayor gave at the opening — Primary source
2.1. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 2. a map drawn by an explorer on her journey — Primary 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 photograph taken at the opening of the bridge — Primary source 6. an online reference article about the bridge — Secondary source
3.1. a letter a soldier wrote home during the war — Primary source 2. a magazine article about the history of the railway — 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 textbook chapter about the voyage, written a century later — Secondary 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.