Hey everyone,

I put together a one-day lesson Understanding Primary and Secondary sources that finally makes teaching primary vs. secondary sources click for students. Instead of just giving them definitions, I frame it as: ‘You’re the historian. Your job is to figure out what life was like for soldiers and families during World War I.’

The lesson comes with a worksheet that has 15 short excerpts — diaries, letters, speeches, photos, but also textbooks, documentaries, and some really tricky ones like a 1920 magazine article looking back on the war or a 1952 interview with a mother talking about her son. Those examples spark great conversations, because kids realize it’s not always cut and dry — it depends on the question you’re asking.

It’s straightforward, takes just one class period, and it ends with a wrap-up discussion where students see how historians actually work with sources. Honestly, it’s one of…