Source Analysis

What is a historical source?

• a piece of evidence which provides information about a historical topic

• something which was created in the past

• one person's understanding of a historical event

• none of the above

What is a primary source?

• An historical source that was created during a certain time period

• An historical source that was created after a certain time period

Which of these are examples of a primary source?

(Hint: More than 1 correct answer)

• A newspaper written during World War I

• The diary of Anne Frank

• An item of clothing from Ancient Greece

• A history textbook written about the moon landing

What is a secondary source?

• An historical source that was created during a certain time period

• An historical source that was created after a certain time period

Which of these are examples of a secondary source?

(Hint: More than 1 correct answer)

• A history textbook about ancient civilisations

• A website with information about World War II

• A movie about the Great Fire of London

• An item of pottery created during the Middle Ages

True of false: Source Analysis is the ability to comprehend and evaluate a historical source

• True

• False

What are the three steps that will help you determine the key information of a historical source?

• Read the entire source once and highlight unfamiliar words/phrases

• Use a dictionary to find the meaning of unfamiliar words/phrases

• Read the entire source a second time, recording the most important statements

• Exploring other historical sources to see if the information is accurate

True of false: The purpose of a historical source is the reason it was made.

• True

• False

True or false: The usefulness refers to how relevant or helpful a historical source is.

• True

• False

What three elements do you need to include when determining the usefulness of a historical source?

• A judgement about how useful the source is

• The topic that you are using to determine the source's usefulness

• Evidence from the source to justify your response

• A reference to the author of the source