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Teacher Overview
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SQ 2. What sources do historians use to learn about the past?
Unit Essential Question(s): How do historians determine what happened in the past?
Link to Unit
Supporting Question(s):
● What sources do historians use to learn about the past?
Objective(s):
● Identify examples of primary sources.
● Identify examples of secondary sources.
● Explain the difference between a primary and secondary source.
Vocabulary
The following words are introduced or reinforced in this lesson. Reference the unit vocabulary tracker for more
information. Click here for the New Visions Global History glossary.
Word/Phrase
(part of speech)
Definition
primary source (n.)
materials from the time period being studied
secondary source (n.)
document based on primary sources and the work of other authors
source (n.)
something historians use to learn about the past
Formative Assessment Possible Responses
These responses represent possible answers to the formative assessment tasks in this lesson. They are not the only
correct answers. Create your own list of possible responses before using this resource with students to anticipate student
misconceptions and adjust your instruction.
Task 1
Identify two types of sources used by historians. Describe the difference between those types of sources.
Historians use primary and secondary sources. A primary source was created by someone who was present for
the event discussed or who wrote about it around the same time. A secondary source is written using primary
sources by someone who was not there.
Task 2
Source
Primary Source or Secondary Source?
Max
Primary
Alicia
Secondary
Why?
Max was present when the fight took place.
Alicia did not see the fight. She heard about it from
her friend Malik, so her version is a secondary source.
NYS Social Studies Framework
Key Idea
N/A
Conceptual Understandings
Content Specifications
N/A
N/A
Social Studies Practices
NYS Social Studies Practices
New Visions Student Social Studies Practices
Gathering, Using and Interpreting Evidence
(A2, A3)
Comparison and Contextualization (C3)
Compare
Categorize
NYS Common Core Learning Standards
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4: Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or
economic aspects of history/social science.
Text Types & Purposes:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1: Write
arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
Comprehension and Collaboration:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1: Initiate and
participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10
topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas
and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6: Compare the point of
view of two or more authors for how they treat the
same or similar topics, including which details they
include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9: Compare and contrast
treatments of the same topic in several primary and
secondary sources.
Associated Classroom Posters
Student Social Studies Practices Poster
Citations
Resources and inspiration for this lesson comes from Lunchroom Fight Activities adapted
from the Stanford History Education Group.
What sources do historians use to learn about the past?
Objective:
● Identify examples of primary sources.
● Identify examples of secondary sources.
● Explain the difference between a primary and secondary source.
Lunchroom Fight Introduction
➡ Directions: Read the two sources below from the principal’s investigation into the lunchroom fight, then answer
the question that follows.
Compare
Max, one of two boys in the fight:
“That kid [Justin] is psycho. He
turned around and punched me out
of nowhere. Me and my friends were
standing in line just joking around,
and he turned around and punched
me for no reason. He’s messed up
and creepy. Ask anyone.”
Alicia, a girl in the same grade as
Max and Justin: “My friend Malik
said he was in the lunchroom when
Max and Justin started fighting. He
told me that some people moved
away to give the boys space while
some others ran to break it up. I don’t
really know either of them, but I bet
Justin started it.”
1. Identify one difference between these sources.
Try using a concession clause: “While Alicia says ___, Max says ___.”
2. Identify one similarity between these sources.
Try using a conjunction: “Similarly, Max and Alicia say...”
What sources do historians use to learn about the past?
History is an account of the past constructed from evidence. This account of the
past differs based on the author’s point of view.
source (n.)
something historians use to learn about the past
Historians use two types of sources to gather evidence to write
about the past:
Primary Source
Categorize
Secondary Source
vs.
materials from the time period being
studied
a document created based on primary
sources and the work of other authors
Example: The Diary of Anne Frank, a diary
written by a young Jewish girl who hid from
the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Example: An essay written in 2016 about
the Neolithic Revolution that occurred in
10,000 B.C.E.
➡ Directions: Based on the definitions above, identify each of the documents below as either “primary” or
“secondary” and explain why you identified it as that type of source.
1. A journal entry written
by Christopher Columbus
describing his voyage
across the Atlantic Ocean.
2. A biography of
Napoleon Bonaparte (died
in 1821) written by a
historian in 2013.
3. A textbook chapter
about World War I
(1914-1919), written in
1996.
4. A photograph of your
grandfather on his first day
of school.
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Primary
Source
Primary
Source
Primary
Source
Primary
Source
Why
Secondary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
5. Winston Churchill’s
autobiography about the
first thirty years of his life
which he wrote later in his
life.
6. A newspaper article
about the start of World
War II, written the day
after it started.
7. A letter from George
Washington to Thomas
Jefferson.
8. A sword that was made
in 1317.
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Circle or highlight one:
Primary
Source
Why
Secondary
Source
Primary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
Primary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
Primary
Source
Why?
Secondary
Source
What sources do historians use to learn about the past?
➡ Directions: Based on what you have learned, complete the task below.
Task 1
Identify two types of sources used by historians. Describe the difference between those types of
sources.
Categorize
Task 2
➡ Directions: Identify each of the sources above as either a primary source or a secondary source,
then explain why you have categorized each source in that way.
Source
Primary Source or
Secondary Source?
Max, one of two boys in the fight:
“That kid is psycho. He turned
around and punched me out of
nowhere. Me and my friends were
standing in line just joking around,
and he turned around and
punched me for no reason. He’s
messed up and creepy. Ask
anyone.”
Primary
Source
Secondary
Source
Alicia, a girl in the same grade as
Max and Justin:
“My friend Malik said he was in
the lunchroom when Max and
Justin started fighting. He told me
that some people moved away to
give the boys space while some
other ran to break it up. I don’t
really know either of them, but I
bet Justin started it.”
Primary
Source
Secondary
Source
Why?