Primary Sources

IMAGE: Generated by Bing Image Creator, https://www.bing.com/images/create, prompt: "a student using primary sources".

What is a Primary Source?

Primary sources are first-hand accounts along with materials / documents / objects directly from the time period that have not been interpreted or analyzed externally by someone else. 

Why are Primary Sources Important?

Primary Sources are important as they allow students to make their own inferences and connections, see perspectives on historical events through the lens of people affected, and give students the opportunity to analyze content directly from the source and not through another's possible bias or viewpoint. Primary sources also provide a human connection to historical information which shapes a deeper connection to the content. As a school library media specialist this is important because primary sources encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and provide raw information rather than information that has been distilled or modified.

How Can You Evaluate a Primary Source?

As with any resource, you must evaluate it first before you can use it. I created my own evaluation criteria of primary sources called P.H.A.T.E.R. Feel free to use P.H.A.T.E.R. yourself!

• Perspective (Bias / viewpoint. Who is writing it? Why are they writing it? Does it add another dimension to the topic?)
• History (Where was it created, when was it created, and was it created in reaction to something?)
• Age (Is the content age appropriate for reading levels and comprehension?)
• Type (What kind of source is it — recording, journal, photograph, document, etc?)
• Established (Why was this material preserved or highlighted? Why would a collector, archivist, librarian, donor, publisher, etc. disseminate it?)
• Readability (Is it transcribed? Can you read and confirm the original text? Can you understand the spelling, vocabulary, and / or the vernacular?)

Want some primary sources to test it out on? Peruse some primary sources in my 5 Primary Resources for Your Classroom blog post!