Elementary Lessons for Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources

LA GLEs: 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

Needed prior to first lesson Some examples of primary and secondary sources (photographs, clothing, news articles, photographs of buildings, people, clothes, and activities; and maps, diaries, articles of clothing, advertisements, magazines, etc.

Time: One Week (45 minutes daily)
Lessons:

1. Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources Discuss what primary and secondary sources are.

•Primary Source - original works in various media formats such as photographs, drawings, letters, diaries, documents, books, films, posters, play scripts, speeches, songs, sheet music, and first-person accounts that are recorded at the time of an event.
•Secondary Source - source created by someone either not present when the event took place or removed by time from the event. Examples of secondary sources include textbooks, journal articles, histories, and encyclopedias.

Source: Cyberbee Link http://www.cyberbee.com/yesteryear

2. Share and discuss the Primary and Secondary PowerPoint with them. Labeled PowerPoint (Elementary)

3. They teacher can create a “T” chart on the board or use the T Chart PowerPoint template to identify these primary and secondary sources.

•advertisements
•architectural
•blueprints
•clothes
•cookbooks
•diaries
•drawings
•encyclopedias
•interviews
•journals
•letters
•maps
•music
•periodicals
•photographs
•speeches
•textbooks
•tombstones
•videos
•worksof art

NOTE: Discuss the choices the students made and why each item falls into a specific category.
In cooperative groups, the students will examine the examples of primary and secondary sources to discover the significance each one brings to history.

4. PowerPoint Quiz Activity (Do as a class to discuss the answers) Listed as Primary Document PowerPoint (3rd/4th Grade) Quiz

5. Graphic Organizer: Using a T-Chart blackline or template, the students will have to create lists on their own of primary and secondary sources in cooperative groups. (Graphic Organizer link included for T-Charts to print or templates to type in.

6. Field Trip: Go to a local museum and have the students take digital photos of primary sources they can locate. Using flip cameras, do the same. Have the students film what they have found, and why it would be considered a “primary or secondary” source.