Primary and Secondary Accounts
Students will use letters from the Civil War to compare and contrast primary and secondary resources.
Lesson Created By: Raney Stogner
Grade(s):
- 5
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Chromebooks or iPads for students, laptop for demonstration
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Read aloud book on Civil War, compare and contrast worksheet
Lesson Progression
DAY 1:
1. Have students retrieve Chromebooks or iPads to complete the activity.
2. Explain to students the difference between a Primary Source and Secondary Source.
- A primary source is any piece of information that was created by someone who witnessed first hand or was part of the historical events that are being described.
- The most common primary sources are journal entries or letters.
- A secondary source is a piece of writing that was not penned directly written by someone who experienced the moment in time.
- For example, if an author reads a book written by someone who did not witness the events and times described at first hand, but only heard or read about them elsewhere, and then uses the information in that book as a source for writing a new history of the same events, the author is using a secondary source.
3. Tell students they will begin by exploring primary sources from the Civil War.
4. Have students open the internet on their Chromebooks and go to the following site: http://content.lib.washington.edu/civilwarweb/collections.html
5. Give them about 20 minutes to explore the website gathering information about the Civil War through reading letters and journal entries written during the time.
6. While students are exploring, give them the worksheet found in Lesson Resources to fill out as they gather information.
DAY 2
1. Gather students on the rug or mat and tell them you will be doing a read aloud about the Civil War.
2. Have students turn and talk with a partner about what they learned about the Civil War yesterday.
3. Then have them explain to one another what they thought and felt about hearing first-hand experiences with the Civil War.
4. Explain that the read aloud is considered a secondary source and ask students to discuss with one another what this means.
5. Read the story The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale by Trinka Hakes Noble.
6. Have students return to seats and fill out the remaining part of the worksheet.
Conclusion:
Have a class discussion about the differences between primary sources and secondary sources and how it impacts the retelling of events.
Civil War Letters Collection
The Civil War Letters Collection was created with the CONTENTdm software's innovative new program, JPEG 2000, which enables materials to be displayed in a higher quality, more usable online format. This new software includes pan and zoom capabilities which allows the user to move in and out of the image and move across the image to display the details. In addition, transcriptions were provided to allow for easier interpretation of the letters.
View ResourceStandards
Assessments
Take up worksheets and grade for participation and correctness.