PRIMARY AND SECONDARY

SOURCES

These are actual accounts of events or the original documents Diaries Letters Journals Speeches Interviews Photographs Audio and video recordings Original literary or theatrical works Original advertisements Magazine and newspaper articles (written at the time of the

event)

WHAT ARE PRIMARY SOURCES?

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

This is an example of a historical ad

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

The Declaration of Independence is an original document

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

This original map from 1142 shows Europe after the Crusades

These are sources that interpret history and primary sources Textbooks Encyclopedias Dictionaries Books that interpret history Articles that interpret history (newspaper or magazine)

WHAT ARE SECONDARY SOURCES?

EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY SOURCES

Your World History textbook is a secondary source because it interprets history and tries to be as unbiased as possible

Why do you think historians use both primary and secondary sources?

What problems might occur from primary sources?

QUESTIONS

When we look at primary sources, we need to do something called “sourcing” which means we identify some things from the document

LOOKING AT PRIMARY SOURCES

The author: who wrote this primary source?Example text: who can you identify as the author of the Mayflower Compact?

SOURCING

Date: When was it written?When was the Mayflower Compact written?

SOURCING

Why was it written?Why do we think the settlers wrote the Mayflower Compact?

SOURCING