Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources

Objective: Explain primary and secondary sources, providing examples of each.

What is a PRIMARY SOURCE?

• Primary sources are original records from the past and were recorded by people who:

• were involved in the event

• witnessed the event

• personally knew the people involved (NOT knew of)

• A primary source is a document or object created during a certain time period.

Primary Sources

• Primary sources can also be objects (artifacts) or visual evidence.

• Primary sources give people today an idea about what people in the past saw or thought about an event.

• Something VERY important to remember - a primary source contains only ONE point of view, so some sources may contain a bias. 

• A bias means a person prefers a certain idea and does not give equal chances to another idea.

Some examples of a primary source are...

• Books

• Newspapers

• Magazines

• Diaries
  

• Letters
  

• Paintings

• Stories

REMEMBER!!

A primary source is an original record from the past and is created by the people who actually experienced a certain event.

Open Ended

List 3 examples of a primary source.

Multiple Choice

True or false...the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence are examples of primary sources.

• True

• False

What is a SECONDARY SOURCE?

• Secondary sources are accounts of past events created after the event has occurred.

• A secondary source can be both useful and reliable, but they cannot reflect the thoughts and feelings of the people who experienced the event. 

Secondary Sources

• Secondary sources can represent a much more accurate account of the event because they can include more than one point of view or may include more information that was otherwise unavailable at the time the actual event occurred.

Some examples of secondary sources are...

• Textbooks

• Biographies

• Articles written by people who were not there

• Images

• Graphs and Charts

Multiple Select

Click all of the examples of SECONDARY SOURCES.

• Textbooks

• Diaries

• Biographies

• Images

• Letters

Another important thing to remember...

to decide whether something is a primary or secondary source, you have to pay attention to who created the source. For example, a book can be both a primary or secondary source. It depends on who wrote it and their point of view.

Let's practice!

Multiple Choice

Is a textbook article written by a person who studied the American Revolution a primary or secondary source?

• Primary

• Secondary

Multiple Choice

Is a letter written by George Washington to Thomas Jefferson a primary pr secondary source?

• Primary

• Secondary

Multiple Choice

Is a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech a primary or secondary source?

• Primary

• Secondary

Go back to Google Classroom and mark this assignment as done! :)