Primary vs Secondary Sources

What is a PRIMARY source?

• First hand information, usually created during the period in history: Photographs, autobiographies, artifacts.

• Second hand information, created well after an event in history. Biographies, history books, journal articles about a past event.

What is a SECONDARY source?

• First hand information, usually created during the period in history: Photographs, autobiographies, artifacts.

• Second hand information, created well after an event in history. Biographies, history books, journal articles about a past event.

Which of the following images represents a PRIMARY source? (Sam Houston)

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Which of the following images represents a SECONDARY SOURCE? (Battle of San Jacinto)

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Which of the following are examples of PRIMARY sources? Check all that apply.

• An authentic photograph of Mirabeau Lamar

• A letter signed by Stephen Austin

• Artifacts in the Alamo museum

• A painting done in 2006 of the Goliad Massacre

Which of the following represent SECONDARY sources? Check all that apply.

• The Week 20 Texas History newspaper

• The original Texas Declaration of Independence

• A biography of Sam Houston written in 1929

• The original "Come and Take It" flag

A recently written journal article about an event in the past is an example of a _________ source.

If you went on a field trip to the Alamo, you would be visiting a ____________ source?

Describe a SECONDARY source, give at least one example.

Describe a PRIMARY source, give at least one example.