All Activities
History

Where Do We Find Out About the Past?

Overview

Children explore different ways historians learn about the past — objects, photographs, stories, and buildings.

Learning Objective
Children understand that historians use different types of sources to find out about the past.

Resources needed

  • A few example objects or pictures (old coin, old photograph, an old tool or piece of clothing)

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Ask: how do we know what happened in the past if we weren't there?
  2. 2 Show an old object — what can it tell us?
  3. 3 Show an old photograph or picture — what can we learn from it?
  4. 4 Discuss: what about stories people tell — are they useful?
  5. 5 Introduce the word 'source' — anything that gives us information about the past.
  6. 6 List the types of sources: objects, pictures, stories, buildings, written words.
  7. 7 Ask: which source tells us the most? Is any one type always the best?

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Take a walk and identify local historical sources — old buildings, markers.
  • Bring in a family object and explain what it tells us.
  • Sort sources into: things we can touch, things we can see, things we can hear.
More information

Teach: source, evidence, object, photograph, story, building, written. A simple sentence frame: 'This source tells us that...'

Focus on just two source types — object and story — before introducing more. Keep the range manageable.

Can children name two types of historical source? Can they say one thing a source tells us and one thing it doesn't tell us?

Use any old object available in the school or community. Stories from elders are a free and powerful source type to introduce.

Children think written sources are the most reliable. Introduce the idea that all sources have limits — even photographs can mislead.

Understanding sources is the foundation of historical enquiry. At primary level, the key concept is simply that historians use evidence — not guessing.

Activity details
Primary Easy 20 minutes 5 minutes prep Whole Class, Small Group Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Historical Sources Evidence Enquiry