Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on telling primary from secondary sources about the founding, 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 13 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.

Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era

D2.His.9.3-5

NameDate

Sort each source: primary or secondary?

1.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A biography of George Washington written in 2005, A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act, A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge, Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre

PrimarySecondary

2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A letter George Washington wrote to Congress during the war, A 1775 newspaper report on Lexington and Concord, A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010, An encyclopedia article about Thomas Jefferson

PrimarySecondary

3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?

Sort: A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought, The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution, James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention

PrimarySecondary

LessonPrint · D2.His.9.3-5 · Set 13 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era

Set 13. Prints on its own sheet.

1.1. A biography of George Washington written in 2005 — Secondary 2. A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge — Primary 3. A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act — Secondary 4. Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre — Primary
2.1. A 1775 newspaper report on Lexington and Concord — Primary 2. A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010 — Secondary 3. A letter George Washington wrote to Congress during the war — Primary 4. An encyclopedia article about Thomas Jefferson — Secondary
3.1. A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution — Secondary 2. A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought — Secondary 3. James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention — Primary 4. The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776 — Primary

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