1. Begin by discussing with students why historians need a method for analyzing sources. The first step they take is to determine if the source is primary or secondary.
2. Define for students that a “Secondary Source” is a second hand (or third, or fourth etc.) hand account of an historical event or time period. [see Rationale and Background] Students will be most familiar with this type of source since it includes information in their textbook or other books or articles on a topic. It is important to stress with students that secondary sources are often written by historians who are experts in their fields and have spent many years researching the information. Some Secondary sources can be distorted and biased, while others may provide a balanced and comprehensive view of the subject.
3. Define “Primary Source” as a first hand, or eye witness, account of an historical event, time period, etc. [see Rationale and Background]. Stress that each source needs to be evaluated to determine if it is an objective or subjective account. Relate this idea to students’ lives: when their classmate tells them something – do they automatically believe it – or do they think about who said it and why they might be saying it.
Historical Detectives
4. Teach students to investigate the PAST by first analyzing their sources. Put the letters P A S T on the Board. Use this mnemonic device to help students remember how to make an initial investigation of a source:
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What was the object used for? What does the text say? What does the picture show? |
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Who created this? |
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Is there bias? What is the point of view or frame of reference of the source? |
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When was it created? What is the historical context or what was happening at the time it was created? |
Encourage them to remember these four points of analysis. Explain to students that they help historians form their own conclusions. Ask students if they think historians work mostly with primary or secondary sources? Discuss how they try to work with primary sources as much as possible to derive their own interpretations.
5. Select a range of sources – primary and secondary – for the class to evaluate.
Primary sources could be an object, picture, newspaper, government document, painting, music, diary etc. There are many ways to access primary source documents. The school or town library will have books and DVDs; you could also go to the local historical society. Or there are published collections of primary sources, for example, Jackdaw Kits. The handiest and most abundant source however is the Internet. Secondary sources are easily found in the text or other book.
6. Present students with the first source. Have students determine if it is “primary” or “secondary” Then have them apply the PAST method through a Think Pair Share.
Think Pair Share
Have students study the source and write down their answers to the questions in the P A S T analysis. Then with a partner, have students share their responses making note of their partner’s ideas. Have each team generate a fuller analysis by asking and answering more questions about the source.
Conduct a whole class discussion on the analysis of the document.
Repeat with more documents or artifacts.
7. When the class is ready, distribute the assessment worksheet Discovery! that asks them to apply their knowledge of determining primary and secondary sources to the colonial period.
With the same partner, have students choose an object from the assessment list to further analyze and offer hypotheses.
8. Concluding Discussion questions
