Primary Source Analysis Worksheet
This worksheet helps grade 9 students understand and analyze primary sources.
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Primary Source Analysis
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Read each question carefully and provide thoughtful answers based on your understanding of primary sources. For sections requiring analysis, consider the context, author's purpose, and potential biases.
1. Which of the following is the BEST definition of a primary source?
An analysis of historical events written by a historian.
A firsthand account or original material from the time period being studied.
A textbook summarizing different historical perspectives.
A historical novel based on true events.
2. Which of these would generally NOT be considered a primary source?
A diary entry from a soldier during WWII.
A photograph of a historical event.
A scholarly article analyzing the causes of the American Revolution.
A government document from the 1800s.
3. Primary sources offer a perspective on historical events.
4. When analyzing a primary source, it is important to consider the author's and the historical .
5. All primary sources are completely objective and free from bias.
True
False
6. An artifact, such as a tool or piece of pottery, can be considered a primary source.
True
False
7. Briefly explain why primary sources are important for understanding history.
8. Describe one challenge historians face when using primary sources.
Read the following excerpt from a historical document and answer the questions below.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."
- Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, 1776
9. What is the main idea or purpose of this document?
10. Who was the intended audience for this document?
11. Based on this excerpt, what can you infer about the political beliefs of the authors?