HISTORY

The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors eventually led to the birth of the United States. Choose another event in U.S. history, and find sources to learn more about it.

• 1 Choose an Event Think about what you already know. Choose the event that seems most interesting to you.

• 2 Find Sources To do good research, gather information from several different sources. There are two main types of sources you should use:

  • • Primary sources are documents that were created at the time of the event. Some examples are diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and photographs.

  • • Secondary sources are documents written at a later time. Some examples are encyclopedias, textbooks, and journal articles.

• Use the Internet and the library to find at least one primary source and one secondary source about the event you chose to learn about.

• 3 Evaluate Sources Good research uses good sources. Think about the answers to these questions:

  • • Will this source tell me what I want to know?

  • • Do I understand this source?

  • • Is the writer an expert on the event?

• 4 Take Notes Write down important information you learn from your sources. Your secondary source should give you general information about the event, such as where, why, and how it happened. Your primary source should give you more personal information, such as how people felt at the time.

• 5 Write a Summary Use your notes to write a summary of the event. Include an introduction. Tell what primary and secondary sources you used and explain what you learned from them.

A newspaper is a primary source.