Primary vs. Secondary Sources
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Learning Goal: Students will be able to use evidence to support analysis of primary sources. |
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. |
Task 1: Summer Evidence Homework and Primary Sources
Step 1:
Think about ("mind walk" through) all the activities you were involved in during the past 24-48 hours. List as many of these activities as you can remember. For each activity on your list, write down what evidence, if any, your activities might have left behind to prove to others what you did.
Step 2:
1. Show your classmates your summer evidence WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION. (we will show a few to the whole class, and the rest at your tables with your group)
2. Allow students to guess what you did over the summer based on the evidence. (location, time, activity, people involved, or anything else you can determine)
3. Tell students if their predictions were wrong or right.
Step 3: DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH YOUR GROUP BY TAKING TURNS (RALLY ROBIN)
What are some of the different types of summer evidence that people brought in?
What “clues” did their evidence offer about what they did over the summer? Be specific.
How do you think these skills relate to Civics or analyzing social studies in general? (hint…remember your DBQs from last year?)
1. Show your classmates your summer evidence WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION. (we will show a few to the whole class, and the rest at your tables with your group)
2. Allow students to guess what you did over the summer based on the evidence. (location, time, activity, people involved, or anything else you can determine)
3. Tell students if their predictions were wrong or right.
Step 3: DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WITH YOUR GROUP BY TAKING TURNS (RALLY ROBIN)
What are some of the different types of summer evidence that people brought in?
What “clues” did their evidence offer about what they did over the summer? Be specific.
How do you think these skills relate to Civics or analyzing social studies in general? (hint…remember your DBQs from last year?)
Step 4: Read the information below to figure out why you did this assignment in Civics:
I really enjoyed all the summer evidence that students brought in and presented! Now you should know that your summer evidence, as well as the evidence you came up with to prove what you've done over the last few days, was an example of a primary source.
I really enjoyed all the summer evidence that students brought in and presented! Now you should know that your summer evidence, as well as the evidence you came up with to prove what you've done over the last few days, was an example of a primary source.
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A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Examples include drawings, photographs, documents, journals and diaries, video recordings, artifacts and items, etc...
Your summer evidence is a primary source. If someone a hundred years from now looked over your evidence, they could try and figure out how you lived, and what culture was like, during the summer of 2019.
Your summer evidence is a primary source. If someone a hundred years from now looked over your evidence, they could try and figure out how you lived, and what culture was like, during the summer of 2019.
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I used the image to the left in class to give you an example of summer evidence of my own from a trip in the past. To the left is a museum display that I visited in Jamestown, Virginia. We discussed that the weapons and armor in the exhibit are primary source artifacts from the 1600's. Historians studied them to understand what kinds of technology were available and to help describe the relationship between the Natives and European explorers. However, the drawings of the Native Americans and the European explorers in the background are secondary sources because they weren't drawn during the 1600s by someone who experienced it firsthand.
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. To use the example above, artists could have used available journals, artifacts, and drawings from the 1600s to draw their own images of what Natives and European Explorers looked like. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. |
The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution might be the most important primary source documents that we will be studying this year.The Declaration of Independence (to the right) outlines basic principles of freedom and equality that all people are entitled to. It explained to the King of England why we deserved to form our own Government. America continues to work toward achieving this promise of freedom and equality to all of its citizens.
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Our Constitution explains how the federal government works, describing its organization, powers and responsibilities. The Constitution also contains the Bill of Rights and other amendments that give individual people their rights as citizens.
In this class, we will study a variety of written documents, videos, photographs, political cartoons and maps in order to learn about Civics and Government. |
Your textbook in this class (image to the left) is an example of a secondary source. It was written by historians, political scientists, and educators. In order to write the textbook, these scholars study primary sources to get the information they need. Other examples of secondary sources include news and magazine articles, encyclopedia entries (like Wikipedia online), non-fiction books about history, movies/television that portray a time period that it wasn't filmed in, etc...pretty much anything that is an interpretation of the past but doesn't offer an inside perspective from that time period.
In class, we'll read a variety of articles, play games on websites like iCivcs, and watch short videos that serve as secondary sources to learn about Civics and Government.
Your textbook in this class (image to the left) is an example of a secondary source. It was written by historians, political scientists, and educators. In order to write the textbook, these scholars study primary sources to get the information they need. Other examples of secondary sources include news and magazine articles, encyclopedia entries (like Wikipedia online), non-fiction books about history, movies/television that portray a time period that it wasn't filmed in, etc...pretty much anything that is an interpretation of the past but doesn't offer an inside perspective from that time period.
In class, we'll read a variety of articles, play games on websites like iCivcs, and watch short videos that serve as secondary sources to learn about Civics and Government.
Task 2: What's this class all about?
Part 1: Each poster/artifact in the room has a numbered sticky note. With a partner, pick five posters and do the following for each poster:
1.Write down the number on the poster.
2.Briefly discuss what is on the poster. (people, places, activities, quotes, information…)
3.Write down: Is this a primary or secondary source?
4.Write down: PREDICT: What might this poster tell you about what you’ll be learning in Civics this year?
Part 2: "What drives me?"
1. Write down your full name on the top of the index card given to you in class.
2. Then, write down anything you are passionate about. What motivates you? Drives you? What are you interested in? Hobbies? Do you already have a career in mind? What are issues in society you care about?
3. Sharing is VOLUNTARY, but I’ll hold onto your cards and do my best to show you throughout the year how your passions will relate to what you learn in this class! By the end of the year, we can look back at these cards and see if you can connect what drives you to what you learned in this class.
1.Write down the number on the poster.
2.Briefly discuss what is on the poster. (people, places, activities, quotes, information…)
3.Write down: Is this a primary or secondary source?
4.Write down: PREDICT: What might this poster tell you about what you’ll be learning in Civics this year?
Part 2: "What drives me?"
1. Write down your full name on the top of the index card given to you in class.
2. Then, write down anything you are passionate about. What motivates you? Drives you? What are you interested in? Hobbies? Do you already have a career in mind? What are issues in society you care about?
3. Sharing is VOLUNTARY, but I’ll hold onto your cards and do my best to show you throughout the year how your passions will relate to what you learn in this class! By the end of the year, we can look back at these cards and see if you can connect what drives you to what you learned in this class.
Task 3: Analyzing Primary Sources
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Scroll through each of the images below and answer the "Photo Analysis" or "Political Cartoons" questions in the attached document to the right.
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