Primary & Secondary History Sources

• History
• Special Education

LO: I can identify PRIMARY & SECONDARY history sources

What sources of information about history can you remember?

There are many sources of information from which we find out about history.  Did you get them all?

Paintings, photographs, films, recordings, carvings, artefacts, letters, diaries and official registers.

(Artefacts are objects from the past.)

Information can be split into PRIMARY sources &

SECONDARY sources.

PRIMARY sources means that the information is from people or things that were actually there at the time.

Cave paintings that were done in the ICE AGE are PRIMARY sources.

This painting of Henry VIII which was done between 1535-40 is a PRIMARY source from which we can find out about his clothes.

Artefacts are things from the past that give us clues as to how people lived.  They are PRIMARY sources as they come from that time in history.

Things like weapons, drinking vessels, toys, buckles and jewellery tell us about what life was like in the past.

Vases, pots and jugs that were made at times in history are PRIMARY sources, like this Greek vase.

This extract from Anne Frank's diary is a PRIMARY source as she was actually alive when these things were happening.

Photographs that were taken of Victorian children are PRIMARY sources.

SECONDARY sources are when we find information that has been created AFTER the time has passed.

This woman is dressing in the clothes that Anglo-Saxons wore but there were no photographs then so this is a SECONDARY source of information.

A history book that has been written about the Romans is a SECONDARY source as it was not written during Roman times.

A film about the Tudor King Henry VIII is a SECONDARY source as it was not made in the 1500s.

(How do we know that the film was not made in the 1500s?)

Which of these is a PRIMARY source?

1. A film about the Romans
2. Paintings on a Roman vase
3. A photo of someone dressed as a Roman
4. A book about the Romans

I

Which of these is information from a PRIMARY source?

1. A book written last year about WWII
2. A new film about a WWII story.
3. A recorded interview from a WWII survivor
4. A poem by an Iffley student about WWII

Which of these is information from a SECONDARY source?

1. A story about WWI written last year
2. Letters written in the trenches in WW1.
3. A poem written by a soldier in WW1.
4. Photos of soldiers in WW1.

Which of these is information from a SECONDARY source?

1. A painting from Tudor times of Henry VIII
2. Official records from Henry VIII's time
3. Letters written by people from Henry VIII's court
4. A new history book about Henry VIII

Is a photo of someone dressed up in Tudor clothes a PRIMARY or SECONDARY source?

1. Final
2. Primary
3. Secondary
4. Third

Which of these is a PRIMARY source?

1. A film about cave men
2. Photos of people dressed as cavemen
3. Cave paintings from the Ice Age
4. A book about cavemen

How confident do you feel about identifying PRIMARY & SECONDARY sources?

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