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Primary and Secondary Sources

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Primary and Secondary Sources

Read each question carefully. Some historical evidence was created during the time being studied or by someone with direct experience. Other accounts were created later using research or other sources.

Identify the source

Choose the best answer for each question. For the question asking which TWO sources could give first-hand evidence, select two answers.

1.A person writes a journal entry on the day they take part in an event. What kind of source is the journal entry?

A primary source
A secondary source
A fictional source
A source that cannot help historians

2.A historian writes a book about the First Fleet after examining letters, objects and other records. What kind of source is the book?

A primary source
A secondary source
An eyewitness account
An artefact from the First Fleet

3.Which TWO sources could give first-hand evidence about a community in the past?

A letter written by someone in that community at the time
A recent school textbook chapter about the community
An object used by someone in that community
A television presenter explaining the community's history today

4.Why might a historian compare an account with other evidence instead of assuming it tells the whole story?

An account may show only one person's viewpoint or contain mistakes
Accounts from the past are always too old to understand
Books written later are always more accurate
Historians are not allowed to use accounts from the time

Think like a historian

Use what you know about when and how sources are made.

5.Complete the definition: A source was made by someone who experienced the time or event.

6.Complete the definition: A source was made later by someone studying the past.

7.Label each item P for primary or S for secondary: a ship's log written during a voyage; a museum information panel written recently; a tool used during the period being studied; a modern documentary about that period.

8.A researcher finds a diary entry written by a European settler describing Aboriginal people. Give TWO questions the researcher could ask to check the diary's usefulness and viewpoint.

9.A class is investigating how Aboriginal people experienced the arrival of the First Fleet. Suggest one kind of evidence they could seek and explain why it could be valuable. Remember that evidence may include oral histories and knowledge shared across generations.