Sources of History evidences primary and secondary sources

1. Evidence
L.O To understand the
difference between primary and
secondary evidence

2. • Imagine you are a detective investigating a
crime.
• What would you need to find out what
happened?
• What would you be looking for when you went
to the scene of the crime?
• That’s right clues
• and evidence!
• Well historians are
• no different

3. • When Historians want to find out what happened in the past
they look for evidence.
• We call evidence that was created at the time of the event
PRIMARY
• Letters
• Newspapers
• Maps
• Magazines
• Photographs
• Objects
• These some of the forms of
• Primary Evidence

4. • When Historians want to find
out what happened in the past
they look for evidence.

5. Primary Evidence
• Primary Evidence can be broken down into 4
categories-
• Written sources
• Images
• Oral Testimony
• Artefacts

6. • Primary sources
• ♦ Are original documents and contemporary accounts of
an event written by either someone who experienced the
event or someone who witnessed the event.
• ♦ Are anything that has been stated/created by someone
but not interpreted by others.
• Eg:
• diaries, speeches, letters, interviews, poems, plays,
novels, short stories, music, art, photographs, pottery,
etc.

7. • Secondary sources
• ♦ Are sources written about primary
sources that analyze, interpret, and
discuss the primary source.
• Eg:
• journal articles, books, reviews,
newspaper articles, essays, magazines,
textbooks, histories, etc.

8. Over to you
• Draw the table into your
book
• Put the pieces of
evidence in the correct
categories.
Written
Sources
Oral
Testimonies
Images Artefacts

9. Primary Evidence
• Diary
• Moving images
• Hairbrush
• Photographs
• Will
• Map
• Cartoon
• Skipping rope
• A story passed from
father to son
• A lamp
• Plate
• Film
• Deeds to a house
• Porcelain doll
• Story telling
• Newspaper

10. Secondary Evidence
• What is the first thing you do when you want to find out about what happened
in the past?
• Most people would probably say that they would look in a book, ask a teacher
or other expert or check it out on the internet.
• These are all excellent sources of information.
• Resources like this can tell us not only historical facts but we can also use them
to find out what other people think about what happened, in other words their
interpretation of history.

11. Your account
• Write your own account
of something that has
happened in your life.
• For example, a birthday,
holiday or trip to a
theme park.
• Describe what primary
and secondary evidence
you have to prove this
event happened in the
past.