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 9 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: James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention, Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre, A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year, A museum sign explaining what happened at Yorktown
PrimarySecondary
2.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge, A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought, A historian's book about women in the Revolution, The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776
PrimarySecondary
3.Sort each one: Primary or Secondary?
Sort: An encyclopedia article about Thomas Jefferson, A 1775 newspaper report on Lexington and Concord, Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776, A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution
PrimarySecondary
LessonPrint · D2.His.9.3-5 · Set 9 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Primary or Secondary? The Founding Era
Set 9. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. A museum sign explaining what happened at Yorktown — Secondary 2. A website summary of the Boston Tea Party written last year — Secondary 3. James Madison's notes taken during the Constitutional Convention — Primary 4. Paul Revere's 1770 engraving of the Boston Massacre — Primary
2.1. A Continental soldier's diary written at Valley Forge — Primary 2. A historian's book about women in the Revolution — Secondary 3. A modern atlas map showing where the battles were fought — Secondary 4. The Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776 — Primary
3.1. A 1775 newspaper report on Lexington and Concord — Primary 2. A fifth-grade textbook chapter on the Revolution — Secondary 3. Abigail Adams's letter to John Adams, 1776 — Primary 4. An encyclopedia article about Thomas Jefferson — Secondary
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.His.9.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.