1. Primary sourcedocuments

2. What is a Primary source document? • First person accounts recorded at the time of the event • The source can be any of the following: • Diaries • Family documents (wills) • Letters • Photographs and other images • Movie clips • Newspaper articles • Speeches • Poems • Interviews – on paper and audio recordings • And more…

3. Does the primary source have to be the original? • No. It can be presented in another format, but it cannot be edited or changed in any way. For example: • The Gettysburg Address can be found in many places, but it is still considered a primary source. • The speech President Ronald Reagan gave when the Challenger exploded is a primary source, but again it can be retyped as long as it is transcribed word for word. • A photograph of a painting and not the actual painting

4. Questions to Think About when Looking at a Primary source: • Who wrote this? • When was it written? • Why was it written? • Who was it written for? Who was the audience?

5. What do You think?Are tHese Primary Sources? • A newspaper article about the Civil War dated 1865 • A box of letters written by a soldier from World War II • A story in the Orlando Sentinel about the Seminole Indians • My grandmother’s birth certificate • A story written by a classmate about George Washington • A poster that shows when Barack Obama came to campaign in Orlando • An original painting by Michelangelo • A recording of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speechI Have a Dream • An essay about what was found in Abraham Lincoln’s pocket the night he died