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History Sources

Learn about the primary sources that tell us what we know about the past.

Learn about the primary sources that tell us what we know about the past.


Referencing the Internet

There is such a wealth of information on the Internet that it is possible to find information on almost any subject. For students this means that information needed for homework or assignments is relatively accessible. However, information used is often required to be referenced and included in a bibliography. The…

Links to History Sites

This page contains a comprehensive list of educational and general history websites. To find a link to a specific topic use the History A-Z page. Educational Sites Additional Needs Net - Special/additional needs resources. BBC Bitesize History Revision - History revision from the BBC. English Heritage - English Heritage Education…

Sources – Online Lesson Plan

Learning Outcome: To understand the meaning of the historical terms - Primary and Secondary Source and to be able to differentiate between the two. To know that an historian asks questions - when, why, what, where, how, who - to discover information from a source. To discover what historical information…

When Did You Last See Your Father?

In the seventeenth century there was a civil war (a war between two sides of one country) in England between the Royalists, who supported the King and the Parliamentarians, who supported Parliament. This famous nineteenth century painting by W. F. Yeames, shows a Royalist family who have been captured by…

Questions to Ask of a Source

A historian will ask a variety of questions in order to find out historical information about a source. The same questions can be asked of either a Primary Source or a Secondary Source. There are six key questions to ask: WHO? WHERE? WHAT? WHEN? HOW? WHY? Listed below are a…

Do you know the difference? Answers

How many did you get right? A piece of the original Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215 (Primary) The Mona Lisa - Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1506 (Primary) A book about the Tudors written in 1999 (Secondary) A mug made in 2013 (Primary) A cartoon of…

Primary and Secondary Sources: How Should They Be Used?

Primary and secondary sources form the cornerstones of historical research. A modern-day work of history is is essentially a description and interpretation of primary sources, along with commentary of secondary sources, both using them in reference to the subject matter at hand, and agreeing and disagreeing with them. This vague…

historical sources

What Are Historical Sources? Here Are Some Answers

Historical sources are, at their most basic level, something that tells us about history. It may be a document, a picture, a sound recording, a book, a cinema film, a television program or an object. Any sort of artifact from the period in question that conveys information can qualify as…

Sources – Online Lesson

By the end of this lesson: You will know what a source is You will know the difference between a primary and a secondary source You will understand how a historian uses a source to gain information You will have some idea about how to analyse a source You will…

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