1. Today’s Agenda
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Group Activity

2. What is a Primary Source?
A document (or physical object) which was written during the time under study.
Written by the people who experienced or were eyewitness to the event the event.
Primary sources = original documents

3. Types of Primary Sources: #1  Original Documents
Diaries and Journals
Letters
Autobiographies and Memoirs
Speeches
Interviews
News Film Footage
Newspapers & Magazine Articles
Time Element
Results of Experiments/Research
Government or Legal Documents

4. Types of Primary Sources: #2  Creative Works
Poetry
Drama
Novels
Music
Any Type of Art
Etc.

5. Types of Primary Sources: #3  Relics or Artifacts
Pottery
Furniture
Clothing
Buildings
Etc.

6. Examples of Primary Sources

7. What is a Secondary Source?
A document that interprets and analyzes primary sources.
Developed by people who researched events but did not experience them directly.
Developed well after the event and usually uses several sources.
May have pictures, quotes, or graphics of primary sources in them.

8. Types of Secondary Sources
Nonfiction Books, e.g., Textbooks
Histories
Criticisms
Commentaries
Encyclopedias
Biographies
Magazine or newspaper articles (written well after the event)

9. Examples of Secondary Sources

10. What’s the Difference? Question You Should Ask Yourself
How does the author know these details (names, dates, times)?
Was the author present at the event or soon on the scene?
Where does the information come from – personal experience, eyewitness accounts, or reports written by others?
Are the author’s conclusions based on a single piece of evidence, or have many sources been taken into account?

11. Primary Source Let’s Try A Few…
A legal document such as a will, contract, or property deed relative to a person or event.
Primary Source

12. The official biography of Steve Jobs.
Secondary Source

13. The Letters and Papers of Henry VIII.
Primary Source

14. The history of the car
Secondary Source

15. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.
Primary Source

16. Encyclopedia Britannica
Secondary Source

17. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Primary Source

18. A comic book telling the story of the American Revolution.
Secondary Source

19. Cave paintings.
Primary Source

20. Today’s Activity: Identifying Primary and Secondary Sources
Work with your table partners.
Read the example sources.
Label each source as either Primary (“P”) or Secondary (“S”) on the activity sheet.
Each student turns an activity sheet into the bin.