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 6 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 ticket from the first train to run on the line, a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair, a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908, a history book about floods in the region, 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: an online reference article about the bridge, the speech the mayor gave at the opening, a photograph taken at the opening of the bridge, a magazine article about the history of the railway, a letter a soldier wrote home during the war, a sports historian's book about the club
Primary sourceSecondary source
3.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 diary kept by a sailor during the voyage, a website summing up the mayor's career, a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery, a scientist's notebook from her experiment
Primary sourceSecondary source
LessonPrint · RI.5.6 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary Source?
Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. a biography of the soldier written by his great-grandson — Secondary source 2. a history book about floods in the region — Secondary source 3. a map drawn by an explorer on her journey — Primary source 4. a museum guide explaining the 1908 fair — Secondary source 5. a poster printed to advertise the fair in 1908 — Primary source 6. a ticket from the first train to run on the line — Primary source
2.1. 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 photograph taken at the opening of the bridge — Primary source 4. a sports historian's book about the club — Secondary source 5. an online reference article about the bridge — Secondary source 6. the speech the mayor gave at the opening — Primary source
3.1. a children's book retelling the scientist's discovery — Secondary source 2. a class report about schools long ago — Secondary source 3. a diary kept by a sailor during the voyage — Primary source 4. a recording of the crowd at the final match — Primary source 5. a scientist's notebook from her experiment — 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.