What is a firsthand account?

One told by a person who was there, in their own voice: letters, diaries, memories written down. The I saw it, heard it, and usually still has feelings about it.

Are the diaries on these worksheets real?

They are written for practice in true diary and letter form, the way reading programs have always done. The reports alongside them stick to real, well-established facts.

3rd grade firsthand and secondhand accounts

3rd grade firsthand and secondhand accounts worksheets

Third grade worksheets pair letters, diaries, and logs with informational reports on similar topics. Questions ask what kind of account each is, which words give it away, and what this kind of telling can offer that the other cannot.

Free printable PDF worksheet.

Each click picks one of the 13 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question.

Lights Out on Juniper Street

Tuesday night. The storm knocked our power out at 6:10. I know because the clock on the oven stopped right then. Dad found the flashlights in the hall closet. Mom said nobody could open the freezer, because the cold has to stay inside. So supper…

What kind of account is this? a firsthand account from someone who was there · a secondhand account built from gathered facts · a made-up fairy tale with magic and talking animals · a set of instructions that tells how to do something
Answer: a firsthand account from someone who was there
Which sentence tells something only a person in the house could know? I could hear the rain on the roof and my little brother chewing. · Storms can knock out power lines. · Freezers keep food cold. · Line crews work to fix broken wires after a storm, even at night.

Each print picks one of the 13 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 13 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 13 passages, 137 to 167 words long. All 13 are on 4th grade sheets too, along with 13 more. On 4th grade sheets they run 137 to 293 words.

Some of the titles: Aquarium Trip, Written on the Bus Home, Snow Diary, Second Morning, What a Harbor Pilot Does, How a City Clears the Snow, Letter from Camp Kettle Lake, Down in the Cave.

Reading passage. Read the passage. Then circle the letter of the best answer for each question. One passage per sheet, with its own question set.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Sort the mail. Letters, diary pages, and postcards on one side; articles and reports on the other. Ask what job the I is doing in each. When your child starts saying 'someone was THERE' about the first pile, the skill has landed. Then ask where each report got its facts. A good report tells you.

Watch for: Firsthand does not mean true and secondhand does not mean dry. A diary can misremember; a good report can sparkle. The question is where the information comes from, not how it feels to read. An I in quotation marks fools everyone. A secondhand account can QUOTE a firsthand one; what matters is who is doing the telling overall.

Common questions about 3rd grade firsthand and secondhand accounts

What is a firsthand account?: One told by a person who was there, in their own voice: letters, diaries, memories written down. The I saw it, heard it, and usually still has feelings about it.
Are the diaries on these worksheets real?: They are written for practice in true diary and letter form, the way reading programs have always done. The reports alongside them stick to real, well-established facts.

3rd grade firsthand and secondhand accounts worksheets

The kind of passages you'll get

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

How to teach this

Common questions about 3rd grade firsthand and secondhand accounts

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?