What is History?

History is the story of the past It is the story of people, places and events

How can Historians find out about the past?

Historians are like detectives who gather information or evidence to put together the story of the past. They gather evidence from different sources e.g. archaeological digs, manuscripts or search the internet

Task Draw an object or bring one into class, that represents something from the past that is important to you. Explain what exactly this object represents about your past.

Objects from the past are called Artefacts

Activity In pairs choose an artefact Study it together and complete the questions Teacher has various objects laid out in the room or students could be asked to bring objects into school

Identify or describe the object you have chosen? How old do you think it is? What do you think it was used for? What does this object tell you about life in the past? Do you think the object comes directly from the past or is a replica of the time?

Is your object a Primary of Secondary source? Sources which come directly from the past, giving first-hand information are known as Primary Sources. Secondary sources are evidence that comes from a later date. They are written after the event.

Sources Primary Secondary

Primary Sources Give examples of primary sources under each heading Written Visual Oral Artefact

Written Visual Oral Artefacts Diaries Letters Census Government Reports Autobiography Newspapers manuscript Paintings Photos Interviews Speeches Tools Bones Jewellery

Secondary Sources Secondary sources are evidence that comes from a later date. They are written after the event. A textbook is a secondary source as it was written long after most of the events that it describes

Can you think of other examples of secondary sources Biography Movies TV or radio documentary Internet History books ( Many secondary sources are put together using many different primary sources)

Which of the following are Primary or Secondary sources? The Census The Irish Times The Mona Lisa History text book The GPO

Where do we find sources? Libraries Archives Museums

Historians will use as many sources as possible and then compare what they have found. Why? This is to make sure that the story of the past is as accurate as possible. This is called cross-checking

How do historians judge the reliability of sources?

Historians judge whether the source is: Bias Accurate Prejudice Exaggerated Propaganda Fact or opinion Paired activity Explain the meaning of each of these.

Bias – This means that the writer may have a strong , personal opinion about an event and tries to show that their opinion is right. Accurate – this means correct or exact. Prejudice – is where writers have made up their minds in advance and present only their own point of view Exaggerates –this is when a writer makes something seem greater than it really is. Propaganda – is where writers are trying to win the reader over to their point of view using posters, radio, tv and speeches

How do Historians put events in order? When historians find out information about the past, it is important to get events in the right order. They usually use dates. This makes it easier for people to follow the story of what happened. This is called chronological order.

There are a number of ways historians measure time to describe past events.

Explain the following: A.D. B.C. Decade Century Periods or Ages Millennium

Task: Create a timeline of your life using images and dates

Put these dates into the correct chronological order 315 AD 44 AD 1871 AD 1779 AD 3 AD

Work out the centuries for the following dates 1066 AD 1215 AD 210 AD 1485 AD 1745 AD 899 AD 902 AD 55 AD