Primary and Secondary Sources - Idaho State Historical Society

econstruct an event and guess what really happened. A secondary source, on the other hand, can help researcherssummarize a huge amount of information and put it into context. This can be very useful when approaching a complextopic for the first time. Secondary sources can also provide exciting ideas and points‐of‐ view from scholars who havealready examined an issue critically.ActivityAlthough the concept of primary and secondary sources is an important one, the presentation of the topic need not becomplex. The lesson has three short parts: definition and explanation of the concept by the instructor, independentwork on the Primary and Secondary Source Worksheet, and a group review of the answers and follow‐up discussion.1. Definition and Explanation: Use the background material to present the two types of sources to the class. Itmight be useful to set them up as separate categories on the whiteboard and then work as a class to come upwith examples that fit in each column. Make sure that you use a specific hypothetical situation rather thangeneral terms. You might pretend that you are researching baseball from 1900‐1910 or the Lewis and ClarkExpedition or some other topic familiar to the students. Some sources can be either primary or secondarydepending on what you are researching. A newspaper article or magazine, for example, could be put in eithercategory depending on when it was written and published.2. Primary and Secondary Source Worksheet: After the class has a clear understanding of the concept, handoutthe primary and secondary source worksheet and have the students work independently to categorize eachsource. The worksheet presents ten imaginary resources that a student might come across while researchingmining in the late 1800’s. The short worksheet will help reinforce the basic concept presented earlier.3. Answer Review and Follow‐up Discussion: Go over the answers to the worksheet as a class. If time permits, usethe discussion questions below to facilitate further discussion and critical thinking about primary and secondaryresources.Possible Discussion QuestionsIs a primary resource better then a secondary resource?Which type of resource is easier to find?Just because a primary source is a first person account does that mean that it is always the truth?Are some sources more reliable than other?How can you tell if a source is reliable?