Primary or Secondary 1
Primary or secondary? A Roman coin stamped with the emperor's face.
Primary. It was made and used during the emperor's rule.
Primary or secondary? Text messages two friends sent each other during the 2020 school closures.
Primary. They were written by people living through it, at the time.
Websites ending in .gov and .edu belong to what kinds of organizations?
Governments and schools or universities. They are usually reliable.
What is the smallest ocean?
The Arctic Ocean
Primary or secondary? A ship's log written by the captain during the voyage.
Primary. The captain wrote it as the trip happened.
Primary or secondary? The map of Mesopotamia printed in our textbook.
Secondary. A modern illustrator drew it thousands of years later.
Primary or secondary? Your own class notes about ancient Mesopotamia.
Secondary. You are learning about it, not living it.
You are researching ancient Egypt. Which is the better source, and why: the British Museum's website or a travel blog by someone who visited Egypt?
The British Museum. Its experts base their information on research. The blog is one person's opinion and experience.
Ancient Mesopotamia was in present-day Iraq. Which continent is that on?
Asia
Primary or secondary? A podcast where a historian explains why the Titanic sank.
Secondary. The historian is interpreting events they didn't witness.
Primary or secondary? A grocery store receipt from 1932.
Primary. It's a record created at the time.
Primary or secondary? A documentary that includes real film footage from World War II.
Secondary. The documentary was made later to explain the war. The footage inside it is primary.
Why is it OK to start with Wikipedia but not OK to stop there?
Anyone can edit it. Use the sources listed at the bottom of the article and check those.
Which ocean lies between Africa and Australia?
The Indian Ocean
Primary or secondary? A memoir written in 2015 by a woman describing growing up in the 1950s.
Primary. It's her own firsthand experience, even though she wrote it later.
Primary or secondary? The museum label next to an ancient Egyptian pot that explains what the pot was used for.
Secondary. Modern museum staff wrote the label. The pot itself is primary.
Primary or secondary? An interview with a Titanic survivor recorded 50 years after the ship sank.
Primary. She is an eyewitness, even decades later.
A website about the health benefits of a juice is written by the company that sells the juice. What's the problem?
Bias. The company wants to sell juice, so it may leave out facts that make it look bad.
Which is the only continent located in all four hemispheres?
Africa. Both the equator and the prime meridian cross it.
Primary or secondary? A chart made in 2024 that compares food prices from 1932 with prices today.
Secondary. Someone made it later using older records.
Primary or secondary? A YouTuber's video reacting to the original moon landing footage.
Secondary. It was made decades later by someone who wasn't there.
Primary or secondary? A family tree your aunt made last year using old birth certificates and census records.
Secondary. She made it recently from primary documents.
Two websites give different dates for the same event. Name two things you could check to decide which one to trust.
Any two: who wrote each one and whether they're an expert, when each was published, whether they cite sources, or what a third reliable source says.
Which continent lies entirely in both the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres?
Australia
Primary or secondary? The 1900 census record listing your great-great-grandparents' household.
Primary. It was recorded at the time by a census taker who visited the home.