1. How do we find out about the past?
L/O – To explore how historians find out about the past and decide why evidence is so important
Starter – In your books, brainstorm ways in which we can find out about the past

2. Doing History: Using Evidence
In history it is usually not possible to question witnesses to find out what happened like detectives do.
You cannot find any survivors from the battle of Hastings in 1066 to ask them why they thought that the Saxons lost.
Instead, historians have to collect their information from various sources in order to find things out. The problem is that not all sources tell us what we want to know and it isn’t always clear what happened.
Use information for exposition. Question pupils on how detectives work, then explain how the historical method is similar. I.e. investigations, sources, look for clues, needing evidence to arrive at a judgement/hypothesis. Etc…

3. Doing History: Using Evidence
The sources of evidence that historians use can be divided into two main types, called primary and secondary:
Primary Sources – something that comes from the time that the historian is studying
Secondary Source – sources which do not come from the time that the historian is studying.
Are these two images primary or secondary sources? Copy down definitions into books.

4. Primary and Secondary Sources
Are the following sources primary or secondary?
Canterbury Cathedral
Britain since 1700 by R.J. Cootes (Oxford, 1999)
Gladiator (film)
Letters from Kennedy to Castro
The text of a speech by Adolf Hitler
Weapons found at the site of the Battle the Bulge
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (a historical novel)
The Times, 5th August 1914 (newspaper)
Task as it says above, give them enough time to think about it.

5. Who? Where? When? Why? How? Analysing Sources
August 2nd, A crowd in the Munich Odeonsplatz celebrates the declaration of war. Adolf Hitler, a 25 year old unemployed artist is circled in the foreground. Get pupils to answer question to show how it is important that we ask the right questions when analysing sources in order to get the right evidence for our investigations.
Who? Where? When? Why? How?

6. Plenary What is a source? What is a primary source?
What is a secondary source?
Why is it important that we analyse sources?
Name 2 primary and 2 secondary sources
Did we meet our learning objective?
L/O – To explore how historians find out about the past and decide why evidence is so important