This LIB101 PowerPoint has information on Primary & Secondary Sources starting on slide 29.
Using Primary Sources : Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.
Examining primary sources gives students a powerful sense of history and the complexity of the past. Helping students analyze primary sources can also guide them toward higher-order thinking and better critical thinking and analysis skills.
Engage students with primary sources.
Draw on students’ prior knowledge of the topic.
Ask students to closely observe each primary source.
Help students see key details.
Encourage students to think about their personal response to the source.
Promote student inquiry.
Encourage students to speculate about each source, its creator, and its context.
Ask if this source agrees with other primary sources, or with what the students already know.
Assess how students apply critical thinking and analysis skills to primary sources.
Have students summarize what they’ve learned.