Background

Historians and geographers must use primary sources, sources written at the time an event happened, to understand history. Newspapers, letters, and journals are all primary sources. Choose a newspaper article to analyze using the questions provided.

Activities

Analyze a Newspaper Article
Choose a newspaper article to analyze. Read it carefully then answer the following questions.

1. What is the title of the article?
   
2. Who wrote the article?
   
3. Every good article should answer: Who? Where? When? What? Why? And How? Write a sentence to answer each of these news questions.
   
4. What will a historian learn about the issue or event 50 years in the future from reading this article?
   
5. What is the danger in relying on primary sources? Hint: think about author’s bias.
   
6. Why do you think that this article was newsworthy enough to appear in the paper?