Primary Sources

Picture
We spend a lot of time talking about Primary Documents and finding and using these.  Here is a tip...we are not going to stop.  The absolute best way to understand a time or an event is to hear it from the people who experienced the emotion, the struggle, the excitement themselves.  So we need to address and help you understand what makes a document primary.  Here are some things to look for.



From the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Resources for Teachers:

"What is a Primary Source?  Primary sources are uninterpreted sources of information created by people who actually participated in or witnessed events of the past.  One of the most stimulating aspects of using primary sources are their different points of view and different perspectives of events, issues, people, and places.  They can be found in many forms and locations ranging from those found those found in one's own home to official records dept by local, state, and national governments.  What students must remember is that primary sources were used or created by the person(s) actually involved or witnessing an event."

There are a few types of Primary Sources:

  • First person accounts (Oral Histories, Diaries, Memoirs)
  • Documents (maps, treaties, laws or legal arguments)
  • Physical artifacts 
  • Scientific data which as been collected but not interpreted (census data, population statistics, weather records, production/manufacturing systems data, air quality measures, animal migration patterns, etc.)
  • Face to Face or on-line mentors who possess specific knowledge or expertise.


Primary Sources seem to be divided into several areas:

Objects, Images, Audio, Statistics, Text, Community Documents

Review these notes whenever you need to in order to help yourself remember what a primary source is and how you know you are looking at one.  

--All paraphrased from the LBJ Library and Museum Educational Materials for Teachers

Other pages in this series: