Let’s go through each item one by one and decide if it’s a
Primary Source (P) or a
Secondary Source (S).
Remember:
-
Primary Source = created at the time of the event, by someone who was there or directly involved. Examples: diaries, speeches, official records, autobiographies.
-
Secondary Source = created later, by someone not directly involved. It explains or analyzes primary sources. Examples: textbooks, encyclopedias, book reports.
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1) A play showing how Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a lightning storm.
→ This is made up later — not from Franklin’s time or his own words.
✔ S
2) A short story describing Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla's 'electrical' battle.
→ A “short story” means it’s fictionalized or retold later. Not from them directly.
✔ S
3) Anne Frank's diary describing her life during World War 2.
→ She wrote it herself while living through it. That’s a classic primary source.
✔ P
4) A cartoon showing how Pocahontas met John Smith.
→ Cartoons are usually made later for entertainment or education — not from the actual time.
✔ S
5) A text book describing the civil rights movement.
→ Textbooks explain things after they happen — secondary.
✔ S
6) A news report about the opening of a power plant.
→ If it’s reporting on the day it happened, and written by a reporter who was there? Could be primary. But often news reports are considered secondary unless they’re firsthand accounts like interviews or live broadcasts. Since it says “news report,” we’ll assume it’s summarizing — so secondary.
✔ S
7) A scientist explaining what it was like for Buzz Aldrin to walk on the moon.
→ The scientist wasn’t Buzz Aldrin — this is an explanation by someone else.
✔ S
8) A YouTube video describing how the pyramids were built.
→ Made long after the fact, by someone not there.
✔ S
9) An interview with Alexander Graham Bell about how he invented the telephone.
→ He’s talking about his own invention — that’s firsthand! Even if recorded later, it’s still his direct account.
✔ P
10) A radio broadcast from the day the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.
→ Happened on the same day — likely a live or immediate report. Primary source.
✔ P
11) An autobiography about the 40th president, Ronald Reagan.
→ Autobiography = written by himself → primary.
✔ P
12) A book describing Christopher Columbus sailing to America.
→ Unless it’s Columbus’s own journal, this is probably written by someone else later.
✔ S
13) A famous artist's painting of what cowboy life was probably like.
→ Artist didn’t live as a cowboy — it’s their interpretation. Secondary.
✔ S
14) A journal by a cowboy about the cattle drives from Texas to Kansas.
→ Written by someone who lived it → primary.
✔ P
15) The United States Constitution.
→ Original document created at the time by the founders → primary.
✔ P
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Final Answer:
1. S
2. S
3. P
4. S
5. S
6. S
7. S
8. S
9. P
10. P
11. P
12. S
13. S
14. P
15. P
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of primary secondary sources worksheet grade 6.
