Lesson 14 Focuses on distinguishing primary and secondary sources.

Time Frame Fourteenth Week

Performance Standard
The learner transfers learning by distinguishing primary and secondary
sources.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the lesson the learners are expected to:
 classify materials as primary and secondary source
 differentiate primary source from secondary source
 point out the uses of primary and secondary sources
 complete the given execises on distinguishing primary and
secondary sources

Let’s try this!

Activity 1. GROUNDED
Can you classify and tell whether the materials listed below are primary or
secondary sources of information? Write P if the material is primary or
secondary or S if the material is secondary.

__________1. Letters and diaries ___________6. Encyclopedia

__________2. History textbook ___________7. Newspaper
__________3. Government documents ___________8. Journals
__________4. Manuscripts ___________9. Magazine
__________5. Video tape ___________10. Artifact

Activity 2. DEFINE ME

What is a primary source?

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

What is a secondary source?

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
When you do research, you have to gather information and evidence from a
variety of sources.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence.

Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works of
art. A primary source gives you direct access to the subject of your research.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the
people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources will
usually be the main objects of your analysis.

If you are researching the past, you cannot directly access it yourself, so you
need primary sources that were produced at the time by participants or
witnesses (e.g. letters, photographs, newspapers).

If you are researching something current, your primary sources can either
be qualitative or quantitative data that you collect yourself (e.g. through
interviews, surveys, experiments) or sources produced by people directly
involved in the topic (e.g. official documents or media texts).

Primary sources are more credible as evidence, but good research uses both
primary and secondary sources.

Research field Primary source

History  Letters and diaries
 Photographs and video footage
 Official documents and records
 Physical objects

Art and literature  Novels and poems

 Paintings and art installations
 Films and performances

Communication and social studies  Interview transcripts

 Recordings of speeches
 Newspapers and magazines
 Social media posts

Law and politics  Court records

2|English 10
  Legal texts
 Government documents

Sciences  Empirical studies

 Statistical data

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary from

other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and academic
books. A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesizes primary
sources.

A secondary source is anything that describes, interprets, evaluates, or

analyzes information from primary sources. Common examples include:

 Books, articles and documentaries that synthesize information on a

topic
 Synopses and descriptions of artistic works
 Encyclopedias and textbooks that summarize information and ideas
 Reviews and essays that evaluate or interpret something

When you cite a secondary source, it’s usually not to analyze it directly.
Instead, you’ll probably test its arguments against new evidence or use its
ideas to help formulate your own.

Examples of sources that can be primary or secondary

A secondary source can become a primary source depending on
your research question. If the person, context, or technique that produced
the source is the main focus of your research, it becomes a primary source.

3|English 10
 How to tell if a source is primary or secondary
To determine if something can be used as a primary or secondary source in
your research, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself:

 Does this source come from someone directly involved in the events
I’m studying (primary) or from another researcher (secondary)?
 Am I interested in analyzing the source itself (primary) or only using it for
background information (secondary)?
 Does the source provide original information (primary) or does it
comment upon information from other sources (secondary)?

Primary vs secondary sources: which is better?

Most research uses both primary and secondary sources. They complement
each other to help you build a convincing argument. Primary sources are
more credible as evidence, but secondary sources show how your work
relates to existing research.

What do you use primary sources for?

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

 Make new discoveries

 Provide credible evidence for your arguments
 Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered
unoriginal or unreliable.

What do you use secondary sources for?

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and
understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often
synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and
time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

 Gain background information on the topic

 Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
 Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access directly
(e.g. private letters or physical documents located elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review, you can consult secondary sources to
gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper or
study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original source

4|English 10
and cite it directly.

Remember that all primary and secondary sources must be correctly cited to
avoid plagiarism.

Let’s apply this!

Identifying Primary and Secondary Sources

 Primary Source: a record made by people who saw or took part in an

event (originates from the past)

 Secondary Source: a record of an event written by someone not there at

the time

**Key question: Is this a primary/secondary source?** Ask yourself....

Did/could the author/creator witness/make the artifact?

Yes = primary source

No = secondary source

Directions: Determine whether the following are primary or secondary sources.

Circle the letter indicating whether the item is a "P" primary source or "S"
secondary source. For each one, explain your reasoning in COMPLETE
SENTENCES.

(P)PRIMARY - (S)SECONDARY

1. The story your grandfather tells you about his experience during the
Korean War. P S
Why:
_______
2. A letter written by George Washington to his mother about the latest
developments in the Revolutionary War. P S

5|English 10
 Why:

3. The Diary of Anne Frank - the published diary of a teenage girl who
experiences the Holocaust first hand . P S
Why:

4. Your World History textbook or an encyclopedia. P S

Why:

5. Your high school diploma. P S

Why:

6. A photograph of you and your friends at your 8th birthday party. P S

Why:

7. The information from the museum tour guide who shows you around the
exhibit and shares facts with you. P S
Why:

8. A mummy from ancient Egypt. P S

Why:
______

6|English 10
 Name: _____________________________________ Grade & Section:______________

Let’s do this!

1. Determine whether the following are primary or secondary sources. Circle

the letter indicating whether the item is a "P" primary source or "S" secondary
source.

P S 1. A youtube video describing how the pyramids were built.

P S 2. A text book describing the civil rights movement.

P S 3. A news report about the opening of a power plant.

P S 4. A cartoon showing how Pocahontas met John Smith.

P S 5. An interview with Alexander Graham Bell about how he invented the

telephone.

P S 6. A short story describing Thomas Edison and Nikolia Tesla's 'electrical'

battle.

P S 7. An autobiography about the 40th president, Ronald Reagan.

P S 8. A book describing Christopher Columbus sailing to America.

P S 9. A play showing how Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a lightning

storm.

P S 10. Anne Frank's diary describing her life during World War 2.

P S 11. A journal by a cowboy about the cattle drives from Texas to Kansas.

P S 12. A scientist explaining what it was like for Buzz Aldrin to walk on the
moon.

P S 13. A radio broadcast from the day the Soviet Union launched Sputnik.

P S 14. A painting by Leonardo DaVinci.

P S 15. A famous artist's painting of what cowboy life was probably like.

7|English 10
Let’s remember!

Primary sources provide raw information and first-hand evidence.

Examples include interview transcripts, statistical data, and works
of art. A primary source gives you direct access to the subject
of your research.

A primary source is anything that gives you direct evidence about the
people, events, or phenomena that you are researching. Primary sources
will usually be the main objects of your analysis.

Primary sources are the foundation of original research. They allow you to:

 Make new discoveries

 Provide credible evidence for your arguments
 Give authoritative information about your topic

If you don’t use any primary sources, your research may be considered
unoriginal or unreliable.

Secondary sources provide second-hand information and commentary

from other researchers. Examples include journal articles, reviews, and
academic books. A secondary source describes, interprets, or synthesizes
primary sources.

Secondary sources are good for gaining a full overview of your topic and
understanding how other researchers have approached it. They often
synthesize a large number of primary sources that would be difficult and
time-consuming to gather by yourself. They allow you to:

 Gain background information on the topic

 Support or contrast your arguments with other researchers’ ideas
 Gather information from primary sources that you can’t access
directly (e.g. private letters or physical documents located
elsewhere)

When you conduct a literature review, you can consult secondary sources
to gain a thorough overview of your topic. If you want to mention a paper
or study that you find cited in a secondary source, seek out the original
source and cite it directly.

8|English 10
 Let’s reflect!

Now, it is time for you to reflect and focus on the essential points of the lesson.
Complete the chart with entries called for to keep a record of your
performance in this lesson.

Performance Chart

Essential points in the lesson that I

found very found helpful would like to found most hope to

engaging work more on difficult strengthen

9|English 10