th

Grade Social Studies

- Primary and Secondary
Sources Sample Answers

LT 1.2 I can identify historic accounts as

primary or secondary.

Remember
Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Come from the time period and

from people directly involved in
the event

Come from after the event and

from people who were not directly
involved in the event

Are firsthand accounts

Are secondhand accounts

Include no analysis or
interpretation

Include analysis and interpretation

Please tell me the difference between a

primary and secondary source. Provide
examples from our class discussion to support
your answer.
Answer

#1:

A primary source is a source from the time

period that provides no analysis. A secondary
source comes from after the time period and
provides analysis or interpretation.

Please tell me the difference between a

primary and secondary source. Provide
examples from our class discussion to support
your answer.
Answer

#2:

Primary and secondary sources are different because primary

sources are images, artifacts, documents, or anything else
that comes from the time of the event. Secondary sources
are from long after an event and are often in the form of
encyclopedia articles, books, or videos.

Please tell me the difference between a

primary and secondary source. Provide
examples from our class discussion to support
your answer.
Answer #3:
Sources like diaries, letters, interviews, images, or other firsthand
objects or events are classified as primary sources. These sources come
from the time of the event and often require analysis by those who look
at them. One example we examined was the actual diary of John Wilkes
Booth, President Lincolns assassin. On the other hand, sources like
television programs or encyclopedia articles are classified as secondary
sources because they often analyze primary sources and are created long
after the event occurs. One example of a secondary source we examined
was the video interview of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on the
moon landing.

Please identify the following source as primary or

secondary and explain your reasoning.

Answer #1:

The source provided is primary. It is primary because it is the diary of John

Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

Answer #2:

John Wilkes Booths diary is a primary source because if includes entries from the
day he killed President Lincoln. He was directly involved in the event and has
firsthand knowledge of how the event happened.

Answer #3:

The diary is a primary source because it comes from the time of the event and it
provides a firsthand account of President Lincolns assassin. It also includes no
analysis.