Now that you really have a built a solid foundation for your research using secondary sources, the next step is to really focus on finding primary sources...just like historians do!
A primary source is a piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary of a historical moment. The purpose of primary sources is to capture the words, the thoughts and the intentions of the past. Primary sources help you to interpret what happened and why it happened (NHD.org)
Examples of primary sources include: documents, letters, photographs, artifacts, historic sites, songs, or other written and tangible items created during the historical period you are studying.
Primary sources will provide the evidence you will need to build a historical argument. All of the work you've done with secondary sources will help you better understand and analyze the primary sources you find... especially the context.
Once you find a primary source that you think might provide solid evidence for your research, you need to use the "Thinking like a Historian" questioning process. The answers to those questions should be the notes you record about the source. Here is the chart in case you need a refresher.
There are sooo many primary sources available. You are required to have " an appropriate number of primary sources given the topic." On the H.R. Edline page, there is a big list posted of places you can find primary sources. Here are a couple others.
For your blog post today, write about primary sources. What types of primary sources have you found already? What types of primary sources are you hoping to find? How do you think these primary sources will help you understand your topic? How do you think primary sources will help you support your historical argument?
No comments:
Post a Comment