Library of Congress
A Primary Source Analysis Tool built on observe, reflect and question, with teacher guides for photos, maps, cartoons and more. Library of Congress guides
What is a primary source checklist for kids?
A primary source checklist is a short list of questions a child asks about anything made at the time (a letter, a photo, a carved stone) to work out what it really shows and what it cannot. Ours has six questions, four evidence labels and fits on one printed page.
Museum visit, photo album or homework scan: same six questions every time, so the habit sticks.
The same habit inside PastRush
PastRush is our history detective game for iPhone. These App Store screenshots show the checklist idea built into a case.
Ten minutes with a shoebox photo
Picture an eleven-year-old with a photo from a grandparent's shoebox: three people on a beach, no date. The checklist turns "old photo" into questions. What is it? A printed photo. When was it made? Unknown, but the car in the back gives a clue. Who made it? Probably whoever was not in the picture. What can it not show? Whether anyone was having a good time.
That last question is the one children remember. A source can be real and still not tell you everything.
Real is not the same as complete.
The worked example, answered
Here are all six answers for the Rosetta Stone, using only what PastRush's Case 1 exhibits show.
| Question | Rosetta Stone answer |
|---|---|
| 1. What is it? | A stone slab, granodiorite, carrying one priestly decree. An object, not a book. |
| 2. When was it made? | 196 BC. It is labelled Made at the time: it was carved when the decree was issued. |
| 3. Who made it, and why? | Priests, to record a decree for King Ptolemy V. The Greek part even orders it to be written in three scripts. |
| 4. What does it show? | The same decree three times: in hieroglyphs, Demotic and ancient Greek. |
| 5. What can it NOT show? | How hieroglyphs sound. The stone gives no key. That came from Champollion's work, written later, in 1822. |
| 6. Does another source agree? | Champollion's 1822 letter to M. Dacier tested sound values using royal names like Ptolemy. Two sources, two kinds of evidence. |
How to use the printable in 3 steps
- Pick one source. A family photo, a museum object, a page from a library book's appendix. Just one.
- Tick the six boxes. Write short answers. "I don't know" is a fine answer to write down.
- Circle the evidence label. Made at the time, written later, scientific finding or modern reconstruction.
Honest limits
- Six questions are a starting habit, not a full historian's method. Older students will want the deeper worksheets below.
- The worked example uses the Rosetta Stone exhibits from PastRush's free Case 1, not our own research.
- PastRush is free with six investigations. Six more, every story collection and the Master tier come with Founder Lifetime, a one-time purchase.
- iPhone and iPad only. The globe, satellite views and Where in the World? need an internet connection.
Free primary source checklists compared
National Archives
Document analysis worksheets for photos, maps, artifacts and more, at novice and intermediate levels, in the public domain. National Archives worksheets
This checklist
One page, six fixed questions for any source, the four PastRush evidence labels and a worked Rosetta Stone example. Made by us.
Use ours to start the habit. Use theirs to go deeper.
Questions from parents and teachers
What is a primary source, in kid language?
Something made at the time you are studying, by people who were there: a letter, a photo, a carved stone, a diary, a map. A secondary source is made later by someone looking back, like a textbook.
What age is this checklist for?
We wrote it for roughly 9 to 13, upper elementary and middle school. Younger children can do questions 1, 2 and 4 out loud with an adult.
Is the PDF really free?
Yes. No email, no sign-up. Print as many copies as you need for your family or class.
How is this different from the Library of Congress or National Archives worksheets?
Theirs are excellent and free, and we link both. Ours is shorter, uses one fixed set of six questions for every kind of source, and adds the four evidence labels used in PastRush.
Does PastRush use these same questions?
In spirit. Every PastRush exhibit carries a label (made at the time, written later, scientific finding or modern reconstruction), and its challenges ask what each source supports and what neither shows.
Make it a habit with PastRush
A Daily Evidence Check gives five claims to judge every day. Six cases are free, with no account, ads or tracking.
Make it a habit with PastRush on the App Store
Updated November 2026
Related
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- History apps for homeschool middle school: questions answeredWhich history apps actually teach middle schoolers to weigh evidence? Answers for homeschool parents, a weekly-minutes planner and an honest comparison.
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