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 15 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? The Founding Era
D2.His.9.3-5
NameDate
Sort each source: primary or secondary?
1.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought, James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention, A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution, Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776
PrimarySecondary
2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act, A historian's book about women in the Revolution, A letter George Washington wrote to Congress during the war, The Constitution as it was signed in 1787
PrimarySecondary
3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge, The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year, A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010
PrimarySecondary
LessonPrint · D2.His.9.3-5 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era
Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution — Secondary 2. A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought — Secondary 3. Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776 — Primary 4. James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention — Primary
2.1. A historian's book about women in the Revolution — Secondary 2. A letter George Washington wrote to Congress during the war — Primary 3. A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act — Secondary 4. The Constitution as it was signed in 1787 — Primary
3.1. A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge — Primary 2. A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010 — Secondary 3. A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year — Secondary 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.