We can learn about history through primary sources and secondary sources.
A primary source is a description of history that was written at the time the event occurred, or a description of history written by someone who actually experienced it. Examples of primary sources are autobiographies, diaries, interviews, newspapers, photographs, and speeches.
A secondary source is a description of history written after the history occurred, or written by someone who did not experience the historical event. Examples of secondary sources are biographies, encyclopedias, and textbooks.
Sometimes it can be difficult to evaluate primary sources. We can use the SOAPS method to help us analyze and understand primary sources.
S-Speaker. Who is speaking? What kind of person wrote this, or who is talking in this source?
O-Occaison. Why is the speaker talking? Why was this primary source created?
A-Audience. Who was this written for? Who is the speaker talking to?
P-Purpose. Why was this written? What is the writer or speaker trying to tell us?
S-Source. What kind of primary source is this? Is is an autobiography, a diary, an interview, a newspaper, a photograph, or a speech? Or something entirely different?
Follow this link to a primary source. Use the SOAPS method to evaluate this primary source. Write your evaluaiton on a piece of notebook paper, and hand it in to me when you are finished.