A direct record left behind from the period or by the people
who are the subject of the historian's study. It
may be a document in print (e.g. letter, diary, speech,
official correspondence, newspaper or magazine article);
an image (e.g. photograph, painting, political cartoon,
map, chart, graph); broadcast media (e.g. movie or television
show clip, radio broadcast); or artifact (e.g. tool, apparatus).
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Defining
a Secondary Source
Books,
essays, and articles historians write that are accounts
of a period or a topic after an event has taken place. It
is a synthesis of research, based on primary sources, and
creativity that offers a narrative of the subject studied
by the historian. Depending on the focus of a particular
study, a secondary source can serve as a primary source.
For example: while a textbook is typically considered a
secondary source, a work such as David Saville Muzzey's
History of the American People (1927) becomes a primary
source when studying textbooks written in the 1920s.
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Deliberative
Discussion
Deliberative discussion is both a method and
means. Deliberative discussion is a method for establishing
the credibility of historical evidence and arguments. Deliberative
discussion is a means to develop historical understanding
in students. Deliberation involves teachers and students
in careful examination and extended discussion starting
with a seminal (First-Order) document, the teacher and students
discuss the central issues and ideas in the primary source.
The teacher ask students to suspend judgments about past
issues and points of view while trying to understand the
context of the document. The teacher than introduces additional
related (Second-Order) documents so students have a richer
contextual understanding of the period. Students are invited
to find other (Third-Order) documents that more fully illuminate
their inquiries into the past. This kind of inquiry offers
students opportunities to understand ongoing ideas and issues
in history.
