The Time Machine
You find your own birth certificate in a drawer. Is this primary or secondary?
Primary.
It was created at the exact time of the event (your birth).
"The cat is orange." Is this a fact or an opinion?
Fact. It can be proven by looking at the cat.
If you copy your friend's homework and put your name on it, is that okay?
No. That is plagiarism and cheating.
What do you call a list of books and websites at the end of a project?
Bibliography (or Works Cited page).
A drawing of a dinosaur in a picture book. Is this a primary source? (Hint: Did the artist see a real dinosaur?)
Secondary. No human was alive to see a dinosaur, so the artist is "guessing" based on fossils.
Your history teacher tells you a story about George Washington. Did your teacher meet him, or is this a secondary source?
Secondary. The teacher is retelling information they learned from other sources.
"The cat is the cutest animal in the world." Is this a fact or an opinion?
Opinion. "Cutest" is a personal feeling; not everyone will agree.
True or False: If you find a picture on the internet, you can use it for anything you want without asking.
False. Most images are owned by the creator (Copyright). You need permission or a citation.
If you want to put events in the order they happened, what kind of chart do you draw? (A Timeline)
Timeline.
You are watching a "Reaction Video" on YouTube. Is the person reacting a primary source for the video they are watching?
Primary. They are a primary source for their own reaction, even if the video they are watching is secondary.
You are looking at a photograph of a basketball game from last night. Is the photo a primary source?
Primary. It is a direct visual record of the event as it happened.
In a primary source letter, a gold miner says, "I found two ounces of gold today." Is this a fact or a firsthand observation?
Firsthand Observation. It’s a fact to that person, but in ELA, we call this a direct account.
You use a famous quote in your essay. What do you need to put at the end of the sentence to show you didn't write it?
A Citation (or "In-text citation").
You have too much information. Should you copy it all down, or should you summarize the main ideas?
Summarize. (Only keep the most important "need-to-know" info).
Why is an encyclopedia usually considered a secondary source?
It’s a collection. It gathers information from hundreds of other sources rather than being a firsthand account.
A historian writes a book about the Titanic in 2024. They use old letters to help them write it. What kind of source is the book?
Secondary. Even though it uses primary sources, the book itself is an interpretation written later.
A newspaper article says, "The Mayor's new plan is a total disaster." Is this an objective fact or a subjective judgment?
Subjective Judgment. "Disaster" is a biased word used to show an opinion.
You rewrite a paragraph from a website using your own words, but you don't mention the website. Is this still plagiarism?
Yes. This is called "Paraphrasing without credit." You still stole the idea, even if you changed the words.
What is the difference between a "Direct Quote" and "Paraphrasing"?
Direct Quote is word-for-word in "quotation marks." Paraphrasing is putting the idea in your own words.
You find a Wikipedia page that was edited 2 minutes ago. Is this a reliable source for a graded research paper? Why or why not?
No. Because anyone can edit it, it might contain "misinformation" or errors before a moderator fixes it.
You find a "Retrospective" article written by a soldier 50 years after a war ended. Why might some experts call this a "gray area" source?
Gray Area. It’s primary because the person was there, but it can be seen as secondary because 50 years of memory can change the facts. (Accept either if they can defend it!)
How can a primary source be "true" (the person really felt that way) but still be "factually incorrect"?
Bias/Perspective. A person can honestly describe what they thought they saw (like a "ghost"), but science or other sources might prove them wrong later.
What is "Public Domain," and why does it mean you can use a photo from the year 1900 without getting in trouble?
Public Domain means the copyright has expired (usually 70+ years after death). It belongs to the public now!
When recording a source, why is it important to write down the URL or the Publisher?
Traceability. So that your teacher or other readers can go back and verify that the information is real.
If you were studying "The History of Social Media," would a TikTok from 2020 be a primary or secondary source?
Primary. It is a direct "artifact" of how people used technology during that specific year.