Primary or Secondary Source Sort

5th Grade Social StudiesAmerican History3 pages

About this worksheet

A leaky museum roof has mixed up the archive boxes, and 5th grade students sort 15 items back into Primary Source and Secondary Source cases. The list includes a soldier's letter from 1776, Paul Revere's engraving, a museum replica musket, a 2023 documentary film, and an 1850 painting of 1776. Two Archivist Notes questions ask for the trickiest item and one new example per category. The 3-page sheet supports C3 Framework indicator D2.His.9.3-5. In the answer key, 7 items go in Primary and 8 in Secondary, with sample notes.

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Page 1 of 3

Primary or Secondary Source Sort: American History - page 1
Primary or Secondary Source Sort: American History - page 2
Primary or Secondary Source Sort: American History - page 3

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Curriculum objectives covered

D2.His.9.3-5

“Summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past.”

The full sort, where students decide whether items such as Washington's diary and an encyclopedia article come from the time of an event or from later study.

What's inside this worksheet

The Museum Archives

Students read the story and a 15-item table. Each item was either made at the time of the event or made later by someone studying it, such as a biography written in 1990 or a teacher's history lesson.

Sorting Cases

A two-column chart headed Primary Source and Secondary Source. Students write each item in one column.

Archivist Notes

Question 1 asks which item was the trickiest to classify and why. Question 2 asks students to add one example of their own to each category.

How teachers use it

Cut-and-glue

Cut the 15 items into cards so pairs can move them between the two cases. It goes faster than writing and makes students defend each choice out loud.

Trap items

The replica musket and the 1850 painting of 1776 catch the most students. Both look old but were made long after the events, which is also the answer key's example for question 1.

Before a field trip

Run the sort the week before a museum visit. Students then label what they see in the exhibits as primary or secondary.

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