Primary and Secondary sources What Every Sixth Grader Needs to Know!
Hey! Hang on a Minute! What’s a “Source” anyway? The word “source” just means “where something came from.” “Hey, I hear a dripping noise!” “I know the source – you didn’t turn off the faucet!”
Sources of information When we learn about things, it’s important to know the source of the information. “I heard a secret from Harriet …” “Oh, don’t believe her! She’s not a good source of information because she’s always making things up!”
What are sources of information? Information comes from all over the place! Sources of information include: newspaper stories television shows teachers books Web sites like Facebook or Twitter Friends our families … just about anywhere!
Some sources are better than others! If you want to know all about a new movie, would you ask … … a friend who saw the movie just yesterday or … a friend who heard about the movie from his brother (who hasn’t even seen it)
Good information comes from good sources! There are two kinds of sources for information. Primary and Secondary
Primary sources rock! The best sources are “primary” sources. Primary sources are a record made by people who saw or took part in an event. They include: People who actually saw something happen A diary of someone who saw something happen A movie of the event happening A letter written by someone who was at the event A photograph of the event An autobiography of someone who was at the event
Secondary sources are Ok, we should still be nice to them! A secondary source is the next-best place to get information A secondary source is a record of an event that was made by a person who was not there. They include: A biography about someone who was at the event An encyclopedia article about the event A history book A painting based on an event in history A movie based on an event in history
Who cares? You should care! You don’t want to learn something that isn’t true, do you?
Always know your source! Primary sources of information are more reliable … they usually are true! Secondary sources of information are Ok, but sometimes they don’t get the facts right! Remember the telephone game?