Historical sources intro lesson

1.  This is a source that is directly from the
time. E.G a genuineWW1 helmet.
 Something that is a copy of a primary
source, like a replica crown, or a history
book that describes events, but the author
wasn’t there.
Welcome to History! It is very
important in History to know
the difference between sources.
These are bits of evidence that
help us work out what they
time period in history was really
like. They can be primary
evidence and secondary
evidence. Primary evidence is
by far the best.
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
Learning Capabilities
Determined learner
Adaptable learner
Self-reliant learner

2. LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
What can you work
out about this
household from its
rubbish?
Gold:
How else could this
rubbish be
interpreted?

3. 459 AD 1066 AD 1170 AD 1485AD 1603 AD
1. Who Are We? 2. Global Citizens 3. Who Has the Power? 4. Design to Product
The Anglo Saxons The Normans The Plantagenet's The Tudors
Sept, Oct, Nov Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb Feb, Mar, April, May May, Jun, Jul
TheVikings
Alfred the Great Battle of Hastings
Motte & Bailey Castles
The Crusades
MagnaCarta
Richard III
Black Death
HenryVIII
SpanishArmadaAnglo-Saxons

4. Hi, Chief Wiggum here,
young Bart Simpson has
been run over by Old
Man Burns. It’s a
classic case of DOA;
Driven-Over
Adolescence. As the
top cop in town, it’s
down to me to find out
what happened.
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

5. There are two types of evidence PRIMARY and SECONDARY.
Lucky for us, we have two pieces of PRIMARY evidence.
Why is PRIMARY evidence useful to historians?
Primary Source – Anything that was written,
used, or owned by the people who actually lived
during a specific time period and actually made
history.
Secondary Source – Something written, used or
owned after a time in history that reflects,
analyses or interprets an event in history.
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

6. How do you think we can test
the accuracy of primary
sources?
You need to consider:
• The type of source
• The authors background
• When it was written
• Is it corroborated by
peers?
• Does it cite its sources?
• Is it biased?
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
We’re going As Bart is the victim,
we’ll start with his story.
Bullet point his story as you hear
it.

8. Bullet point Bart’s side of the
story.
He must be telling the truth –
he was the victim after all.
Am I right?
Now it’s time for Mr
Burns’ side of the story.
Bullet-point his side of
the story
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

10. Can you give examples of
bias in these sources?
As the top cop in town, I
think we need to find out
a little bit more about
these characters – that
should help us decide
whether they are telling
the truth.
They can’t both be telling
the truth, can they?
Who is telling the truth?
Write your answer in your book and
explain your
reasoning
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

11. Divide your page in half and write as many things about these
two characters as you can think of. This will help us to work
out how likely they are to tell the truth.
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

12. Using your list of similarities,
write a report of your own
stating what you think really
happened.
Can we trust either of these
guys? I don’t think we can, so the
best thing that we can do is look
for similarities between their
testimonies.
Make a list of the similarities
between the testimonies.
Why are we doing this?
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

14. Swap books with your partner
and give them a mark out of
10 depending on how accurate
their description was.
Gold: Write down your top
tips for using evidence for
the rest of the Springfield
Police Department.
Thanks for the help!
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.

15. LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
Class Discussion
Why should we be
careful when using
historical accounts of
real events?

16. LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
Right, Now we’ve done
some visual/oral
sources, we’re going to
look at some physical
sources.
Around the room are
some sources. You
need to fill in your
table and decide if the
sources are primary or
secondary
You should explain
why you think it is
primary or
secondary.

17. Source No What is it? Primary or secondary?
1 Fake shield (Modern) secondary
2 WW2 soldiers helmet (1938-1945) primary
3 ReplicaWWI stick grenade (modern) secondary
4 Fake old map (modern) secondary
5 Gas mask (1938) primary
6 ReplicaTudor coins (modern) secondary
7 Old photos circa (1880-1910) primary
8 WWI tobacco tin (1914-1918) primary
9 Dunkirk newspaper (1940) secondary
10 Frank Meadow Sutcliffe photo (1880-1890) primary
LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
How did you
do? Time to
check
answers

18. LO:To consider different interpretations, using different sources.
Class Discussion
What do you need to
be aware of when you
are looking at physical
historical sources?