A soldier wrote a diary each evening during the war he was fighting in. Years later a historian used that diary while writing a book. What kind of source is the soldier's diary?

A historian read old letters, army records and photographs, then wrote a book explaining why a battle was lost. What kind of source is the historian's book?

A photograph taken by a witness while an event was happening is a primary source.

Historians use a special word for an object that people in the past made and used, such as a clay tablet a scribe wrote business records on. What is that word?

A newspaper owner also sells farm machinery. His paper prints an article urging every farmer in the valley to buy more machines. What should a careful reader notice about the article?

Two people saw a market fire. A shopkeeper's account blames the crowd for knocking over a lamp, while a shopper's account blames the shopkeeper's stove. What best explains the difference?

A student finds a letter saying a bridge collapsed during a storm, then finds a town repair record from the same week reporting the same collapse. What has the student done?

A student adds a citation after a sentence in a history report. What is the purpose of that citation?

A student copies three sentences straight from a website into a report and does not name the website or its author anywhere. What is this called?

In a report a student writes that trade made a harbor town wealthy, and then adds harbor tax records showing payments rising every year. What is the tax record acting as?

A writer argues that a new canal caused a town to grow, then adds that other historians argue the railroad caused the growth instead. What is that second idea called?

During a famine a ruler wrote a speech and delivered it to her council, asking them to open the grain stores. What kind of source is that speech?

A magazine article published last year explains a war that ended long before the writer was born. What kind of source is the article?

A woman writes an autobiography telling the story of her own life, describing events she personally lived through. What kind of source is her autobiography?

A student asks how a flood damaged a village. One source is dated damage records made by inspectors after the water fell. Another is a blog post written years later by someone who heard stories about it. Which is more credible, and why?

A history website names no author and gives no date. Why does that weaken its reliability?

An interviewer records an older woman describing the factory where she worked as a young woman. What kind of source is that recording?

Surveyors walked a growing city and drew a map recording the streets that existed at that time. What kind of source is their map?

A student quotes two sentences from a book and writes the author's name and the book title beside the quotation. What has the student given the reader?

A general wrote a letter describing a battle he commanded, explaining the orders he gave and why. What can this source best support?