AGONCILLO COLLEGE INCORPORATED

Poblacion, Agoncillo, Batangas

Tel: (043) 2102228 / (043) 2102905
email: agoncillocollege_inc.@yahoo.com

I. Date:
Date Due:
Course: BSEd/BEed

Teacher: Reynaldo C. Seidel Jr.

Module No: 2
Week No: 3

II. Subject: Reading in Philippine History

Content Standard:
The students demonstrate understanding of the basic difference between
primary and secondary source materials, and their importance in getting a
better of what really transpired in Philippine History
Performance Standard:
Consistently demonstrates critical thinking skills in the distinction between
primary and secondary sources.
Learning Competencies:
1. Assess primary and secondary sources materials.
2. Evaluate the provenance of primary source.
Reference:

III. Development of the lessons

This section explains how to evaluate primary and secondary source materials. This also elaborates on
the primacy of primary sources over secondary sources. In addition, this presents the different points of
consideration in analysing both of types of sources.

1. ACTIVITY

FAKE NEWS OR REAL NEWS?

I. Instructions: write your insights on the following story behind the oblation statue of
the University of the Philippines ( UP). It is credible source material or not?

When you visit any UP campus, it is not difficult to see the oblation. In the UP Diliman campus, the popular
statue, measuring 3.5 meters in height, was constructed during the university presidency of Rafael Palma. First-
time observers, whether part of the Up community or not, usually ask” Who is the model of the famous UP
symbol, the Oblation?”

The answer is Fernando Poe, Sr., a UP student during the time. National artist Guillermo Tolentino, a professor
at the UP school of Fine Arts, created the statue.
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2. DISCUSSION

It is already common knowledge in the academe that both primary and secondary sources are
important in fleshing out the details of significant events in history. However, classifying a source as primary
or secondary has never been an easy task. Nevertheless, the primacy of primary over secondary sources
has always been recognized.

In this age, the proliferation of fake news is evident in both print and digital media platforms. Thus, it
becomes more apparent that sources of text should be scrutinized for their credibility.

Although primacy is given to primary sources, there are instances when the credibility of these
sources are contestable.

Six points of inquiries to evaluate the authenticity of a primary source:

1. Date
2. Localization
3. Authorship
4. Analysis
5. Integrity
6. Credibility

The absence of primary document that can attest to the accuracy of any historical claim is really a
problem in the extensive study of history. In that sense, the significance of secondary sources should not
be discredited.

Secondary sources are readily available in print and digital repositories. Secondary accounts of
historical events are narratives commonly passed on from one generation to the next or knowledge that is
shared within a community. Yet, a usual problem with passing information from one point to another, details
can be altered. As information is relayed from person to person, the accuracy of the source material is
compromised. Nevertheless, secondary source materials in the study of Philippine History without
conjectures and refutations have the capacity to fill in gaps caused by the lack of the absence of primary
sources.

Louis Gottschalk (1969)

Gottschalk suggested that secondary sources must only be used for:

1. Deriving the setting wherein the contemporary evidence will fit in the grand narrative of
history
2. Getting leads to other bibliographic data
3. Acquiring quotations or citations from contemporary or other sources
 4. Deriving interpretations with a view of testing and improving them but not accepting them as
outright truth.

Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier (2001)

Three (3) Preconditions:

1. It must be comprehensible at the most level of vocabulary, language, and

handwriting.
2. The source must be carefully located in accordance with place and time. Its author,
composer, or writer and the location where it was produced should be noted for the
checking of authenticity and accuracy.
3. The authenticity of the source must always be checked and counterchecked before
being accepted as a credible source in any historical findings.

Given the possibility of forgery and mislabelling, historians not only evaluate the sources in terms of
external characteristics that focus on the questions of where, when, and by whom. This also evaluate in
terms of internal criteria which include seven factors identified by Howell and Prevenier (2011):

1. The genealogy of the document – refers to the development of the document

2. The genesis of the document – includes the situations and the authorities during the
document’s production
3. The originality of the document – includes the nature of the document whether it is an eye /
earwitness account or merely passing of existing information
4. The interpretation of the document – pertains to deducing meaning from the document
5. The authorial authority of the document – refers to the relationship between the document’s
subject matter and its author.
6. The competence of the observer – refers to the author’s capabilities and qualifications to
critically comprehend and report information
7. The trustworthiness of the observer – refers to the author’s integrity – whether he or she
fabricates or report truthfully

In general, the reliability of primary sources is assessed on how these sources are directly related and
closely connected to the time of the events they pertain to. On the other hand, the reliability of secondary
source depends on the elapsed time from the date of the event to the date of their creation. More likely, the
farther the date of creation from the actual event, the more reliable the source is. This is because as time
passes, more materials are likely to be made available. With this, those who engage in historical research
have the opportunity to exhaust all available materials in order to come up with extensive outputs.

IV. ASSESSMENT

I. Instructions: Write PS if the item is a primary source, SS if it is a secondary source, and

N if it is neither of the two sources.

________1. Memoirs

________2. Annual Reports of the governor general

________3. Philippine History Textbooks

________4. Newspaper clippings

________5. Online journal article about the role of the collaborators in WWII

________6. Artefacts and relics

________7. Documentary reports

________8. Photo exhibit

________9. Editorial cartoons

________10. Paintings

II. Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources

Instructions:
1. Using the Venn Diagram below, Compare and contrast the characteristics of primary
and secondary source materials.

Primary Secondary

2. List down eight (8) examples of primary sources.

3. List down eight (8) examples of secondary sources.

III. Classification of sources: Primary or Secondary

Instructions: Using any social media site, ask your friends to share their opinions on
whether President Rodrigo Duterte is an elite president or a populist president.
Afterwards, screenshot, print, cut, and stick five responses that can either be a primary
or secondary source on the space provided. Indicate whether the response is a primary
or secondary source of information. Justify why each response is a primary or secondary
source.
 Response 1 Response 2

Response 3 Response 4

Response 5

V. ASSIGNMENT

Using online resources, search the following historical events:

a. Marcos’ Declaration of Martial Law

b. EDSA People Power I
c. President Joseph Estrada’s Impeachment

Prepared by:

REYNALDO C. SEIDEL JR.

Instructor
Noted by:

GREGORIA C. CABILES Ed. D

Dean, College of Education