UCI Libraries SPIRIT ProgramInstructors: Melanie Sellar, Nicole

Gilbertson

Exploring History and Social Science through Primary

Sources

What are our objectives today?

By the end of today’s class, you will:•Understand the role of primary sources in building historical thinking skills•Distinguish primary sources versus secondary sources•Learn techniques for analyzing primary sources and discover the kind of historical information that can be extracted•Become familiar with some online primary source libraries•Gain ideas for incorporating primary sources into the classroom

Solve your puzzle!Instructions:1)Take your piece, find others with which it fits, and assemble your puzzle pieces to form the picture.2)Look at your picture: what kind of historical information can you extract? Use these questions to guide you:

a) When was it created and what do you think it’s about?

b) Where does your eye go first? What details are most striking?

c) For what topic(s) would this photo be a good resource?

What does Historical Thinking

look like in your classroom?

What distinguishes a primary source from a secondary source?

SecondaryPrimary

Common characteristics

Primary SecondaryCreator actually

witnessed event, participated in it, or lived at the time it happened

Created when events happened, or just after

Variety of formats, e.g. photos, diaries, letters, clothing, government info

A source that analyzes, interprets, or synthesizes info about a historical event

One-step removed; reporting usually by someone who wasn’t there

Sample formats: a textbook or encyclopedia

Activity: Examine your Primary Source

Take a few minutes to examine your primary source borrowed from the UCI Libraries Special Collections.

-Why is it a primary source? -For what kind of research topics could it provide evidence about?-Note anything of particular interest to you

Q1: Which type of source is recorded near or at the time of

the actual event?

a)primary source

b)secondary source

Q2: Which of the following IS a primary source?

a)a book discussing the Oregon Trail

b)a pioneer woman’s diary that she wrote while traveling west

c)a US history text

Q3: Which of the following is NOT a

primary source?

a)a birth certificate

b)a census record

c)a memoir

d)minutes from an organization

e)they are all primary sources

Q4: Events in secondary sources are typically….?

a)recorded by someone who witnesses the event

b)recorded by someone who hears about the event

Q5: The movie “Titanic” can be used as a primary source for a

history paper on turn of the century travel.

a)trueb)false

Q6: Is recorded historical information on a marriage

certificate always accurate?

a)yes

b)only if the couple doesn’t lie about the information

c)no

Q7: How can secondary sources best be used by students when

exploring history?

a)Provide unfiltered interpretations of the pastb)Serve as a good starting point for investigationc)Help back up a student’s arguments

Q8: A recorded interview with your father on facts about your

grandfather’s childhood is a primary source.

a)trueb)false

Q9: Primary sources only report the facts, never a bias or

opinion.

a)trueb)false

Q10: Primary sources such as magazines and posters can

provide what kind of historical information?

a)what was considered luxury

b)current technology

c)social norms

d)all of the above

Muddiest point?

Techniques for Analyzing Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources Online

Challenges? Try these portals:Spend hours

searchingInformation overloadCan’t determine

qualityCan’t determine

accuracyCan’t determine

authority

Activities for using Primary Sources in the Classroom

Please complete evaluations:

Go to this web site:

http://tinyurl.com/ynt4wq

Thank you!!