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 5 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 letter a soldier wrote home in 1847, A museum sign written in 2020 explaining a mining tool, A photograph of a mining camp taken in 1850, A textbook chapter about the Gold Rush

PrimarySecondary

2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A newspaper report printed in 1848 about the gold find, A forty-niner's diary from 1849, A documentary film about the Plains made in 2015, A website that sums up the history of the missions

PrimarySecondary

3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A biography of Abraham Lincoln written in 2010, An information text written for a worksheet, The census count of California taken in 1850, A map a gold miner drew in 1848

PrimarySecondary

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

Answer key — Made at the Time or Made Later?

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A letter a soldier wrote home in 1847 — Primary 2. A museum sign written in 2020 explaining a mining tool — Secondary 3. A photograph of a mining camp taken in 1850 — Primary 4. A textbook chapter about the Gold Rush — Secondary
2.1. A documentary film about the Plains made in 2015 — Secondary 2. A forty-niner's diary from 1849 — Primary 3. A newspaper report printed in 1848 about the gold find — Primary 4. A website that sums up the history of the missions — Secondary
3.1. A biography of Abraham Lincoln written in 2010 — 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

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