Primary Source

• Any artifact or first-hand account of an event. Primary sources are witnesses to the event

• Examples???

Secondary Sources• Any re-telling of a story by someone who

was NOT present at the event and only knows about it by studying primary sources.

• Examples??

Primary or Secondary?

• Photographs

Primary or Secondary?

• Essays/Reviews

Primary or Secondary?

• News Reports/Newspaper articles

Primary or Secondary?

• Diaries/Journals

Primary or Secondary?

• Textbooks/Encyclopedias

Primary or Secondary?

• Clothing

Primary or Secondary?

• Statistics/Data/Maps

Primary vs. Secondary? I was watching ESPN and one of the reporters said he had heard

good reviews about a new sports movie. The reporter is a ….

My friends and I found and old wedding dress in the attic that my dad said belonged to my great-grandmother. The dress is a …

My mom has CDs of my grandparents telling stories from their childhoods and we listen to them at Christmas. The CDs are …

I like to read the articles written about Hollywood actors and music artists in People Magazine. These articles are…

I am writing an essay on George Washington for my US History class. I used articles from Wikipedia and information from my textbook. These sources are…

Cross-Reference

• Comparing Multiple Sources• The more sources that agree on the same

story, the more likely the story is true• Examples??

Credibility• A source’s trustworthiness measured by:– Having qualified authors with trustworthy

reputations– Being created during acceptable

circumstances– Including only consistent accurate facts– Agreeing with other trusted sources (cross-

references)• Examples??

Bias

• When a personal point of view and life experiences influence a person’s beliefs and/or actions. – can be either positive or negative– The less bias a source has the more credible it is.

• Examples??

Credibility and bias practice

Who do you trust?

Historical Question:Who was present at the signing of the

Declaration of Independence?

Source #1:Hollywood movie about the

American Revolution made in 2001.

Source #2:Book written by a famous historian who is an expert on the American

Revolution, published in 1999.

Who do you trust?

Historical Question:What was slavery like in South Carolina?

Source #1:1936 Interview with a former slave. Interviewer is a black man collecting oral histories for the Federal Writer’s

Project.

Source #2:1936 Interview with a former slave.

Interviewer is a white woman collecting oral histories for the Federal

Writer’s Project .

Who do you trust?

Historical Question:What was slavery like in South Carolina?

Source #1:1936 Interview with a former slave. Interviewer is a black man collecting oral histories for the Federal Writer’s

Project.

Source #2:1936 Interview with a former slave.

Interviewer is a white woman collecting oral histories for the Federal

Writer’s Project .

Who do you trust?

Historical Question:What was the layout of the Nazi concentration

camp, Auschwitz?

Source #1:Interview with an 80-year old

Holocaust survivor in 1985

Source #2:Map of concentration camp

found in Nazi files.

Who do you trust?

Historical Question:Whose policies and actions made him was the

better president, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush?

Source #1:Head of the local county

democratic party, in charge of online blogging

Source #2:30 year experienced national

political analyst unattached to any specific political party

Thesis Statement

• An opinion based on credible evidence. An effective thesis:Takes a positionPreviews evidence (but is not just a list of facts)Addresses all parts of the questionUses descriptive vocabulary

Spotting a strong Thesis

Writing Prompt:Discuss the social, political and economic

effects of World War II on the United States.

Thesis #1:World War II was a costly war

that had a major impact on the economy of the United States.

Thesis #2:World War II not only saved the

US economy, but also altered the role of the American government and the American spirit forever.

Spotting a strong ThesisWriting Prompt:

Describe 3 physical features of Latin America and their importance to the region.

Thesis #1:The Andes Mountains, the Amazon River, and Yucatan

Peninsula are the three most significant physical features in

Latin America as shown by their impact on population

and the environment.

Thesis #2:Three physical features found in

Latin America are the Andes Mountains, the Amazon River,

and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Spotting a strong Thesis

Writing Prompt:Early on in life, people develop an admiration for

heroes. In a well-developed essay, discuss a person you admire and why you chose this person.

Thesis #1:One person I admire is Babe Ruth,

who played baseball from 1914 until 1935.

Thesis #2:One person I admire is Babe Ruth, the

greatest baseball player of all time proven by his athletic skill, knowledge of the game, and heroic personality.