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Sources for Both Sides is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on choosing sources allowing for disagreement, aligned to Common Core standard D1.5.3-5. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils 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.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Sources for Both Sides

D1.5.3-5

NameDate

Circle the best source for each purpose.

1.You want a measure of who lost work. Which source?
  • A.The workhouse register and the trade directory
  • B.The election poster
  • C.The toll table
2.You want to know what goods the canal carried. Which source?
  • A.The canal toll table
  • B.The petition
  • C.The 2015 history
3.You want the case against the railway. Which source?
  • A.The trade directory
  • B.The 1844 petition from the boatmen
  • C.The railway timetable
4.You want to know what voters were promised. Which source?
  • A.The railway report
  • B.The election poster
  • C.The workhouse register
5.Why is the 2015 history not enough on its own?
  • A.It is too recent
  • B.It is one historian's argument built from the other sources
  • C.It is too short
6.Why use both the petition and the newspaper report?
  • A.They give opposite views of the same change
  • B.Both are from 1846
  • C.Both are printed
7.You want somebody's overall judgement of the change. Which source?
  • A.The toll table
  • B.The timetable
  • C.The 2015 local history
8.You want the case for the railway. Which source?
  • A.The workhouse register
  • B.The newspaper report of the opening
  • C.The petition

LessonPrint · D1.5.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Sources for Both Sides

Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The workhouse register and the trade directory
  2. 2.The canal toll table
  3. 3.The 1844 petition from the boatmen
  4. 4.The election poster
  5. 5.It is one historian's argument built from the other sources
  6. 6.They give opposite views of the same change
  7. 7.The 2015 local history
  8. 8.The newspaper report of the opening

More practice for D1.5.3-5

Work out what kind of source would help, allowing for the fact that people disagree.

Teaching this next? Choosing Sources for Both Sides is the 45-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 to Grade 5 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D1.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.