Made at the Time or Made Later? is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on telling primary from secondary sources, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.His.9.3-5. 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 21 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

One paper per student

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

Made at the Time or Made Later?

D2.His.9.3-5

NameDate

A primary source was made at the time. A secondary source was made later about the past. Sort each one.

1.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A map a gold miner drew in 1848, The census count of California taken in 1850, An information text written for a worksheet, A documentary film about the Plains made in 2015

PrimarySecondary

2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A newspaper report printed in 1848 about the gold find, A letter a soldier wrote home in 1847, A website that sums up the history of the missions, An encyclopedia article on the Mexican-American War

PrimarySecondary

3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A photograph of a mining camp taken in 1850, A Lakota winter count painted on a hide in the 1870s, A biography of Abraham Lincoln written in 2010, A textbook chapter about the Gold Rush

PrimarySecondary

LessonPrint · D2.His.9.3-5 · Set 21 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Made at the Time or Made Later?

Set 21. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A documentary film about the Plains made in 2015 — Secondary 2. A map a gold miner drew in 1848 — Primary 3. An information text written for a worksheet — Secondary 4. The census count of California taken in 1850 — Primary
2.1. A letter a soldier wrote home in 1847 — Primary 2. A newspaper report printed in 1848 about the gold find — Primary 3. A website that sums up the history of the missions — Secondary 4. An encyclopedia article on the Mexican-American War — Secondary
3.1. A biography of Abraham Lincoln written in 2010 — Secondary 2. A Lakota winter count painted on a hide in the 1870s — Primary 3. A photograph of a mining camp taken in 1850 — Primary 4. A textbook chapter about the Gold Rush — Secondary

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.9.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.