Remember, primary sources are original documents, artifacts, records, or reports created at the time of an event. Secondary sources are any records of the past created after the time of the event.
One way to tell the difference is to look at the author or person who created the artifact. For example, an interview in a newspaper with someone who saw an event is a primary source. However, a newspaper article about the same event written years later is a secondary source.
Click Arrange It to do an activity categorizing primary and secondary sources.
When you see an artifact like this, ask yourself – is this a primary or secondary source? How do I know? This image of the U.S. Capitol is a primary source because it is an original document from 1846. Source: Library of Congress. LC-DIG-ppmsca-51816.