Primary vs. Secondary Source

My sister leaves a letter she wrote to her best friend on the kitchen table. I want to read it but I don’t because I know it’s private. What is her letter?

Is the letter a primary or secondary source?

• primary

• secondary

I like to read magazines for kids. I really like the stories about famous people who are in movies. When I read these stories, am I reading primary or secondary sources?

• primary

• secondary

I was playing with my friends and found an old wedding dress in the attic. My father said it was his mother’s. What is the dress?

• a primary source

• a secondary source

My mom has CDs of my grandparents telling stories about when they were kids. We love to listen to them before bedtime. What are we listening to?

• primary sources

• secondary sources

When I was at summer camp last year, I found an arrowhead. My parents said they were used a long time ago by Native Americans. What is my arrowhead?

• a primary source

• a secondary source

I am writing a report on George Washington and my friend lends me her encyclopedia. What am I using?

• a primary source

• a secondary source

When I visit my Aunt she shows me pictures of my parents when they were little. What am I looking at?

• primary sources

• secondary sources

Would a sound recording of Rosa Parks describing her role in the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycotts be a primary or secondary source?

• primary

• secondary

My friend Tim told me about a book he read that he really liked. He said I should read it too. When Tim talks about the book, what is he?

• a primary source

• a secondary source

Would a biography about George Washington be a primary or secondary source?

• primary

• secondary