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 18 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 museum sign explaining what happened at Yorktown, A British officer's 1775 report on the Battle of Bunker Hill, A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought, Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776
PrimarySecondary
2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution, A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year, The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776, A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge
PrimarySecondary
3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: The Constitution as it was signed in 1787, A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act, Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre, A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010
PrimarySecondary
LessonPrint · D2.His.9.3-5 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era
Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A British officer's 1775 report on the Battle of Bunker Hill — Primary 2. A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought — Secondary 3. A museum sign explaining what happened at Yorktown — Secondary 4. Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776 — Primary
2.1. A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge — Primary 2. A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution — Secondary 3. A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year — Secondary 4. The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776 — Primary
3.1. A documentary film about the Constitution made in 2010 — Secondary 2. A magazine article in which a historian explains the Stamp Act — Secondary 3. Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre — Primary 4. The Constitution as it was signed in 1787 — Primary
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.9.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.