Grade 1 Fall History — Then and Now, Family Histories, and How We Know What Happened
History · HIS G1 (D2.His.9-11.K-2; STRETCH toward G3 D3.1) hist.g1.f.his.primary_secondary_source

Distinguish a primary source from a secondary source (G1-light level)

Sort 5-8 source examples into PRIMARY (made by someone who was THERE — photo, letter, recording, object, journal) and SECONDARY (made later by someone else — picture-book, textbook, documentary, museum poster). Explain one's sorting with 'because was-you-there?'

Mastery threshold
80%
Min instances
8
Typical minutes
30
Spaced intervals (days)
1, 3, 7, 14, 30
Prereqs
Successors
  • hist.g1.s.his.timeline_as_source
    (not yet loaded)
  • hist.g3.f.his.source_credibility
    (not yet loaded)
Common misconceptions
  • Believing primary means 'first' (it means 'made by someone who was THERE')
  • Believing only photos can be primary sources (objects, letters, recordings, interviews all count)
  • Believing secondary sources are 'wrong' or worse (they're useful — they just aren't EYEWITNESS evidence)

Exercise pool (5)

Diff Stem Type
2 Is your family-history interview sheet a PRIMARY or SECONDARY source? Explain. interview sheet is primary
3 Sort these 6 source cards into PRIMARY or SECONDARY bins: 1925 sepia school photo, children's biography of MLK, Grandma's quilt,... sort 6 cards
3 Find ONE primary source in our classroom (or your home). Tell me what makes it primary. find primary in classroom
4 For each of the 6 cards in the previous exercise, justify your sort: 'I put ___ in the PRIMARY (or SECONDARY) bin because ___.' justify each sort
4 Create a primary source RIGHT NOW: draw a picture of yourself with today's date and your name. In 100 years, who would this be a primary... create a primary source now