Stephannie E.

Evangelista
BSED 1- Social Studies

Unit 4. PRIMARY SOURCES, SECONDARY SOURCES,

AND REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

EXERCISE 4.1 Score:

Am I Important?
(40 points)

A repository of a man's experiences and thoughts A collection of images carrying memories that
that is created honestly and habitually and directly bring into life allowing to look back at past and
spoken, providing a window for looking into the reminisce the people, places, and events.
past and brings closer to the writer’s life.

Important accessory in one’s life that plays

a vital role in documenting history by
recording actual events happening in that
moment of time.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. If you are going to classify the items, are they primary sources or secondary
sources? Why? (5 points)
-- If I were to classify these items, I would describe them as primary sources
since they offer firsthand information, such as a diary that contains the writer's
actual words. A photo album containing photographs produced at the same as
the event in a person's life. And a camera that captures and records what
actually happened at that specific moment. The key thing is they offer a direct
insight into what happened because they were created at that exact time.

2. Do you think practical things or the things we use in day to day lives can
become valuable sources of history? Why or Why not? (5 points)
-- Yes, because it can provide records in our past which can give
information on how we live as it has become part of our daily lives. Like those
equipments used by people during Old Stone Age, Middle Stone age, New Stone
age, and Age of Metal where it traces back how people lived during those ages.

Score:
Exercise 4.2
What Am I To You?
(25 points)

1. .Jose was exploring the library in his new school in Manila. He wanted to study the history
of Calamba, Laguna during the 19 th century. In one of the books, he saw an old photograph
of a woman standing in front of an old church, clipped among the pages. At the back of the
photo was a fine inscription that says: “Kalamba, 19 de Junio1861”.
Is the photograph a primary or secondary source? Why do you say so?
-- The photograph is primary source because it captures that specific moment of the
woman standing in front of an old church in Kalamba which can give Jose a firsthand
information of what does that church looks like during June 19, 1861.
2. It was Lean’s first day in his first year of college in a big university. His excitement
made him come to class unusually early and he found their classroom empty. He
explored the classroom and sat at the teacher’s table. He looked at the table drawer
and saw a book entitled U.G. An Underground Tale: The Journey of Edgar Jopson and
the First Quarter Storm Generation. He started reading the book and realized that it was
a biography of a student leader turned political activist during the time of Ferdinand
Marcos. The author used interviews with friends and family of Jopson, and other primary
documents related to his works and life.
Is the book a primary or secondary source? Why do you say so?
-- The book is secondary source because it is a biography of a student leader in
which a biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else therefore
the author of the book uses primary documents that helped him/her to write the
book.

3. Lorena was a new teacher of Araling Panlipunan in a small elementary school in

Mauban, Quezon. Her colleagues gave her the new textbook that she ought to use in
class. Before the class started, Lorena studied the textbook carefully. She noted that
the authors used works by other known historians in writing the textbook. She saw that
the bibliography included Teodoro Agoncillo’s The Revolt of the Masses and The Fateful
Years: Japan’s Adventure in the Philippines, 1941-45. She also saw that the authors
used Ma. Luisa Camagay’s Working Women of Manila During the 19 th Century and
many others.
Is the textbook a primary or secondary source? Why do you say so?
-- The textbook is a secondary source because the author uses primary sources and
then synthesize, evaluate, and interpret them to make summaries in relation with the
subject matter of the students.
4. Manuel visited the United States for a few months to see his relatives who have
lived there for decades. His uncle brought him on tours around Illinois. Manuel visited
the Field Museum of Natural History where a golden image of a woman caught his eye.
Manuel looked closer and read that the image was called “The Golden Tara”. It
originated from Agusan del Sur and was brought by the museum in 1922. It was
believed to be made prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines.
Is the sculpture a primary or secondary source? Why do you say so?
-- The sculpture is a primary source that is a form of unwritten document, it is
considered such because it was created during that particular event and a direct
evidence that was left behind with its corresponding historical significance.

5. Gregoria loved to travel around the country. She liked bringing with her a travel
brochure that informs her of the different sites worth visiting in the area. Her travel
brochure was usually produced by the tourism department of the province. It shows
pictures of destinations visited by tourists and a few basic information about the place
like the origin of the name, the historical significance of the place, and some other
information acquired by the office’s researchers and writers.
Is the travel brochure a primary or secondary source? Why do you say so?
-- The travel brochure is a secondary source because it relies upon other sources
for the information provided like the information about its origin and its historical
significance.
 Exercise 4.3
What Should I Do Next?
Be Reflective!
To see if you really understood the lesson, please answer the assessments
below. Don’t forget to read and follow the directions.

I. Directions: Read the statements very carefully. Choose the letter of the

correct answer. Write your answer on the space provided before the number

C 1. These are original historical sources.

A. Descriptive sources
B. Interpretative sources
C. Primary sources
D. Static sources
A 2. This evidence is considered as material evidence.
A. Archaeological
B. Books
C. Diaries
D. Recordings
A 3. Historians consider these sources as document/ record and existing
legal situation as the best source.
A. Diplomatic sources
B. Oral sources
C. Relic
D. Remains
B 4. The third part of diplomatic source. The attestation of those responsible
for the document, which may be the author, writer, counter signer, principal parties
involved, and witnesses to the enactment or the subscription.
A. Content
B. Eschatocol
C. Protocol
 D. Negotiable
D 5. These historical sources are materials by nature.
A. Oral sources
B. Reliable sources
C. Unwritten sources
D. Written sources
D 6. A product of record keeping of a bureau which contains information.
A. Content
B. Formulas
C. Minutes
D. Social documents
C 7. This is an example of primary source.
A. Electronic data
B. Newspaper
C. Painting
D. Tape recorder

D 8. What is the historical tract typically composed to inform contemporaries

or succeeding generations.
A. Juridical tracts
B. Literature
C. Narrative
D. Scientific tract
D 9. These are materials made by people long after the events being
described had taken place.
A. Diplomatic source
B. Primary source
C. Scientific source
D. Secondary source
A 10. These are examples of primary sources EXCEPT ONE.
A. Biographies
 B. Birth certificates
C. Photographs
D. Letters

POST EVALUATION
At the end of this unit, I realized that...

Historians most important research tools are historical sources. It can be classified into
two, the primary sources and secondary sources. These sources serve as the base of history,
and the concept of these are key to studying and writing history. Primary sources contain the
first hand account as this is created at the same as the event. It records the exact words of a
participant or an eyewitness to events. In addition, it is seen as a window into the past since it
allows us to learn about what people were doing, planning, and talking at that particular
time. Primary sources include letters, diaries, pictures, interviews, and sound or video
recordings. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are accounts made long after the events
occurred. It is considered one step remove as it analyzes, interprets, and describes the
firsthand accounts of other people to make them more accessible or to give context to an
event. Some of these sources include textbooks, biographies, and academic book.
Furthermore, primary sources have two types, the written sources and unwritten
sources. Under the written sources, we have narrative or literature -- tracts presented in a
narrative form. Diplomatic sources --which record an existing legal situation and considered as
the best source. Social documents-- those that provide information of economic, social,
political, or judicial importance. On the other hand, unwritten sources are divided into two
namely, material evidence-- archaeological evidence and archaeological sites. And oral
evidence-- considered as a significant source of information for historians nowadays.
Moreover, some repositories of historical document include libraries and archives, historical
shrines and museums.
There is no history without sources, therefore, historical sources are of paramount
importance. History without sources is like gossip and chismis, these sources indicate the
credibility and trustworthiness of the documents we are reading.