Name: Core: Date:
Historians and their Sources
Distinguishing between Primary and Secondary Sources
What do historians need to investigate the past?
Historians need __________________ to investigate the past.
Definition: Example:
When historians study an event, they use ____________ related to the event to study it.
Historians classify the sources they use into two kinds:


Term:
Definition: Examples:

Term:
Definition: Examples:
Check your understanding:
Imagine you are a historian who wants to know what American Middle School students learned in school from 1950-2000. Which of the following would be considered a Secondary Source? a.
An interview with the neighbor of a person who was a middle school teacher in the 1950s b.
An article written in 2010 about middle schools in the 1960s c.
A final exam from a social studies class in 1980 d.
A history textbook used in 1950 from a middle school.
How does a historian decide which sources are the most accurate when studying an event?
They have to check for 3 things:
1.
2.
3.