Primary and Secondary Sources
Primary sources are first-hand accounts made by people who experienced an event, while secondary sources are second-hand accounts made by people who study or interpret those events later on.
What Are Primary Sources?
- Primary sources were created during the time of the event, or by someone who was directly involved.
- Examples: diaries, letters, photos, interviews, speeches, laws, maps, research reports.
- They give raw, original information without anyone else’s interpretation.
What Are Secondary Sources?
- Secondary sources describe, analyze, or explain events by using primary sources.
- Examples: textbooks, articles about historical events, biographies, documentaries.
- They are written after the event and don’t provide direct evidence, but instead, they interpret or evaluate what happened.
Key Differences for Kids
- Primary: Someone who was there tells the story (like a diary or a photo from the day).
- Secondary: Someone who was not there writes about it later, using clues from the past (like a school textbook or a history book).
- Timeline: Primary sources = made during the event; secondary sources = made after the event.
Why It Matters in History
- Using primary sources helps students learn what really happened from people who saw it.
- Secondary sources help students understand the bigger picture and why things happened
