Two people can describe the exact same event and give you two very different pictures. A child who was there remembers the sound of the rain and the feeling of a pounding heart. A reporter who arrived later counts the homes, quotes the fire chief, and checks the numbers. Both accounts are true, and both are useful. Learning to see the difference is one of the most important reading skills in fourth grade.
This free printable worksheet uses a short pair of texts about a flood in the fictional town of Millbrook to make that difference clear.
For More grade 4 worksheets, Visit Grade 4 Reading Comprehension Worksheets.
What Students Will Read
Account 1: Sofia’s Journal is written by a girl who lived through the flood. After three days of rain, she wakes to sirens and sees her street turned into “a brown river,” with water almost up to the mailbox. Her dad carries the photo albums upstairs while her mom packs snacks and blankets. Around noon, she watches firefighters paddle an orange boat down the street to rescue her neighbor, Mr. Okafor, and his dog. Later, the neighbors share hot soup on the hill. She ends with a line only someone who was there could write: “I will never forget the sound of the rain drumming on our roof all night long.”
Account 2: A Newspaper Article from The Millbrook Gazette reports the same event the next day. It explains that more than five inches of rain fell in three days, about forty homes flooded, and rescue crews used two boats to help twenty-three residents. It quotes the fire chief, notes that no injuries were reported, gives the time the river peaked, and mentions a shelter at the middle school and a cleanup on Monday.
Placed side by side, the two texts show students exactly what each kind of account can and can’t tell them.
Why Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts Matter
Fourth graders are starting to read more history and current events, and that means they need to think about where information comes from. A diary, a letter, or an interview gives a personal view, full of feelings and sensory details. A news article, a textbook, or an encyclopedia gives a wider view, full of facts gathered from many people.
Neither one is “better.” A strong reader understands what each type offers and uses both. This idea is the foundation for later skills like evaluating sources, comparing primary and secondary sources in history class, and writing research reports.
A fictional event works especially well for teaching this. Students can focus on how the accounts differ without getting caught up in historical background.
What’s Inside the Worksheet
The worksheet follows the same four-part format used across the site.
Part A: Multiple Choice. Four questions check who wrote Account 1, how much rain fell, which detail appears only in the newspaper, and which appears only in the journal.
Part B: True or False. Three statements, including one that checks whether students realize Sofia never reports how many people were rescued.
Part C: Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts. A short note defines both terms and points out clue words like I, me, and we. Students identify the firsthand account and explain how they know, then name one thing they can learn only from each account.
Part D: Think and Explain. Students decide which account they would use for a report about the flood, or whether they’d use both, and explain why. The strongest answers recognize that facts and feelings together give the full picture.
A separate answer key includes every correct answer and sample responses.
How to Use This Worksheet
Use a T-chart. Before answering questions, have students label two columns, “Only in the Journal” and “Only in the Article,” and fill them in. Most of the worksheet’s questions become easy once the chart is done.
Hunt for clue words. Have students circle every I, my, our, and we in Account 1. Then ask them to look for the same words in Account 2. There aren’t any, and that’s the point.
Connect to real life. Ask students to describe a recent school event as a firsthand account, then rewrite it as a short news report. It’s a fun way to check whether they understand the difference.
At home, the worksheet takes about 30 minutes. Parents can extend it by finding a real newspaper article and talking about who the reporter might have interviewed.
Tips for Teaching Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts
Ask “Was the writer there?” It’s the simplest test, and fourth graders can apply it to almost any text.
Focus on purpose, not just facts. The journal shares an experience. The article informs the public. Ask why each writer included the details they did.
Point out quotes. The newspaper quotes the fire chief, which is a sign the reporter gathered information from others. Students can look for quotes in their own reading to spot secondhand accounts.
Discuss what’s missing. Sofia doesn’t know how many homes flooded, and the reporter doesn’t know what the rain sounded like on Sofia’s roof. Talking about missing information helps students understand why historians use many sources.
Let students choose a side. A quick debate about which account is more useful gets kids explaining their thinking, which is excellent practice for Part D.
More Grade 4 Reading Practice
For a story about a community coming together around a creek, read The Cleanup Crew, our Grade 4 realistic fiction worksheet. The river theme continues in the Grade 4 poem The River’s Song, and for a far less serious water problem, try the tall tale Big Sal and the Thirsty Creek. Students who enjoy informational reading can continue with How Monarch Butterflies Find Their Way Home.
Older students ready to compare more complex texts can look ahead to Two Paths to the Moon, a Grade 6 compare and contrast passage. You can also browse all of our Grade 4 reading comprehension worksheets.
Download the Worksheet and Answer Key
The Grade 4 firsthand and secondhand accounts worksheet and its separate answer key are free to download and print. They need no prep and fit easily into ELA, social studies, or a homeschool lesson on sources. Hand out both accounts and let students discover how much depends on who’s telling the story.