Secondary history is about reading sources critically. Teach a consistent framework:
Sourcing: Where does this come from? Who created it? When? This determines trustworthiness.
Contextualising: What else was happening at this time? What events, beliefs, or power structures inform this source? A newspaper article from 1954 reflects 1954 attitudes about race.
Interrogating: What is the author trying to convince us of? What evidence does she use? What viewpoints are excluded? A source is never neutral — it's always an argument.
Primary: Created during the time period being studied. A letter from a convict, a newspaper from 1945, a photograph of the Stolen Generations. These are eyewitness accounts.
Secondary: Created later about the time period. A historian's book about convicts, a documentary about WW2, an academic article analysing the Stolen Generations. These are interpretations.
Both matter. Primary sources show what people thought and did. Secondary sources offer informed interpretation and analysis.
Bias Isn't Bad: Every source has a perspective (bias). That doesn't make it useless; it makes it honest if we acknowledge it. A suffragette's speech is biased toward women's rights. That bias is its value — it shows us what suffragettes believed.
Perspective vs. Accuracy: A biased perspective can still be factually accurate. A newspaper hostile to Indigenous people might accurately report an event but frame it in racist terms.
Limitations: What does this source not tell us? A photograph shows a moment but not what came before or after. A diary reflects one person's experience, not everyone's.
Model Loudly: Think aloud with a source. "I notice this letter is addressed to 'My Dear Sir.' That formality suggests... I see the date is 1890. What was happening in 1890? How might that context shape what the writer says?"
Guided Practice: Provide a source and a partial analysis. Students complete it: "The author's purpose was probably to... because..."
Jigsaw Activity: Divide a collection of sources on a topic (e.g., responses to the 1967 Referendum). Each expert group analyses one source deeply, then teaches their findings to the whole class. Students see multiple perspectives.
Before analysing a source, know where it came from. Is it from a reputable archive? A museum? Published? Is there evidence of its authenticity?
Be wary of uncited sources. A viral image claiming to be "from the 1800s" might be manipulated or from a completely different era. Teach students to verify sources, not blindly accept them.
No single source tells the whole story. Three sources on a historical event often contradict each other. That's not a problem; it's a learning opportunity.
"Source A says this. Source B says that. How do we reconcile them? Maybe they're looking at different aspects. Maybe one is more trustworthy. How can we use both to get a fuller picture?"
This develops historical thinking — understanding that history is interpretation, not facts handed down.
