Primary and Secondary Sources

​Primary and Secondary Sources - Introduction

​*Primary means "firsthand." Secondary means it comes later on.

Open Ended

If you wanted to find the answer to a question, what would you do?

​Well, it depends on the question! Think, where would you find the answers to the following questions.

• ​I am in a building I am not familiar with and I need to find the bathroom.

• ​What is my friend doing after school?

• ​I am in a new city and I need directions to the subway.

• ​Who is playing in the Super Bowl?

• ​Who fought in World War 2?

• ​What kind of food do rabbits eat?

​Where you find information and the answers to your questions are called SOURCES.

Multiple Choice

What source might you use for the following question:

Will it snow tomorrow?

• U.S. History Textbook

• A picture from the time period

• A witness who saw it happen

• An entry from Maria’s diary

• The weather report on TV

Multiple Choice

What source might you use for the following question:

Who started the fight in the hallway?

• U.S. History Textbook

• A picture from the time period

• A witness who saw it happen

• An entry from Maria’s diary

• The weather report on TV

Multiple Choice

What source might you use for the following question:

What was the U.S. Civil War?

• U.S. History Textbook

• A picture from the time period

• A witness who saw it happen

• An entry from Maria’s diary

• The weather report on TV

Multiple Choice

What source might you use for the following question:

How does Maria feel about starting school?

• U.S. History Textbook

• A picture from the time period

• A witness who saw it happen

• An entry from Maria’s diary

• The weather report on TV

Multiple Choice

What source might you use for the following question:

What clothes did factory workers wear in the 1800s?

• U.S. History Textbook

• A picture from the time period

• A witness who saw it happen

• An entry from Maria’s diary

• The weather report on TV

​In history class, 

there are PRIMARY sources and SECONDARY sources

​Primary sources are from the time period we are studying. They are first-hand accounts or objects about the topic or event.

Example: a photograph, a diary entry, a recording, an artifact

​Secondary sources are written about the topic or event later on. Secondary sources use primary sources to write their account.

Example: a textbook, a book, an essay

​PRIMARY sources or SECONDARY sources?

​“Pottery made around 1000 BCE shows that dogs were very important to the Mayan culture.”

Multiple Choice

This is an example of a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Multiple Choice

“Pottery made around 1000 BCE shows that dogs were very important to the Mayan culture.”

This is an example of a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

​“Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech is remembered as one of the most important speeches in United States history.

​“I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

Multiple Choice

This picture from of the I Have  Dream Speech is a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Multiple Choice

"Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech is remembered as one of the most important speeches in United States history."

This paragraph about the I Have Dream Speech is a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Multiple Choice

“I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

This quote from the I Have Dream Speech is a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Multiple Choice

This children's book about the I Have Dream Speech is a . . . 

• Primary Source

• Secondary Source

Open Ended

Exit Ticket:  Answer the following questions about sources. 

What is a source?

What is a primary source?

What is a secondary source?

Give 2 examples of a primary source and 2 examples of a secondary source.