Primary sources — how to use them

Child's hand touching an interactive exhibit at He Tohu in Wellington.

Before engaging in primary source analysis with your class, read about what they are and how to use them effectively and responsibly. Explore recommended primary source collections to access quality, trusted resources you can analyse using our tools.

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What are primary sources?

Primary sources are created as people experience everyday life. Primary sources are original, first-hand records about people, places, taonga and events. They capture a moment in time and are created as people record what they see, hear and feel.

Everyone has some type of primary sources such as photos, a birth certificate, a school report, emails, letters, taonga, clothing, or oral histories such as karakia and waiata etc.

Many different types of primary sources exist. People can record their experiences in different ways and formats. The way we record our experiences today might be different from how our tūpuna (ancestors) did. In the future, the way our descendants create primary sources may be different again due to changes in tikanga (customs), culture, technology and the way we live.

A primary source can be a:

  • newspaper, identification document, pānui (announcement), memoir or diary

  • photo, poster, video recording or artwork

  • speech, interview, pūrākau (narrative) or audio recording

  • website, email or social media post

  • taonga — like raranga (weaving), whakārakei (adornment) or whakairo (carving)

  • physical object — like clothing, a tool or a building

  • map or research data.

Many different people use primary sources, such as writers, researchers, artists, historians and kaiako, because they provide an original eyewitness account of people's experiences and interactions at the time they occurred. By reading, viewing or listening to primary sources you can learn about the past and the present.

Primary sources can provide different perspectives and accounts of historical and contemporary issues. They can become hotly debated (like Te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi) and can define a period of history and our understanding of it.

Published and unpublished sources

Primary sources can be published or unpublished depending on the reason they were created and who they were intended to be shared with.

Published primary sources are often intended to make information or messages available to a large number of people. They can be published for international, national, rohe or local, or iwi or hapū audiences. Examples of published primary sources are magazines, newspapers, pānui and websites.

Unpublished primary sources are often created for a personal or private audience. Diaries, emails, letters and logbooks are examples of unpublished primary sources. They can provide insights into thoughts, feelings and interactions between people, places, taonga or objects at the time of the account. To learn about the author or creator's experiences, you can pay careful attention to the style of writing, language and tone used. Drawings, sketches or emojis may provide insights about the author.

Secondary sources

A secondary source is an item developed after an event has occurred. Often it's created by someone who did not experience it first-hand or take part in the event. A secondary source interprets and explains an event. However, it can contain or draw on original primary sources such as photos and eyewitness accounts.

A secondary source could be an essay, journal article, book or artistic recreation of an event. For example, this watercolour Reconstruction of the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, is a secondary source as it was created after the event.

Why use primary sources?

Primary sources stimulate curiosity in ākonga by providing them with an immediate and personal account of people's experiences across different time periods. When used alongside rich questions, primary sources encourage inquiry-based learning but need to be used effectively and responsibly. It's essential to use culturally responsive pedagogy and follow usage and copyright guidelines.

Broaden perspectives and develop key skills

Primary sources provide a range of voices to help ākonga understand different perspectives. They can learn about people, places, and events by examining pieces of evidence and trying to understand the author or creator's experiences and point of view.

For example, 2 eyewitness accounts of the 1981 Springbok tour of Aotearoa New Zealand may show vastly different perspectives of the same event. However, as each example is created in a specific cultural, historical and personal context, they may reflect attitudes and values that were held at the time. It's useful for ākonga to consider how those perspectives would be viewed in society today.

Engaging with primary source materials can also support the delivery of Aotearoa New Zealand's histories and social sciences curriculums.

Examining primary sources provides ākonga with the opportunity to:

  • understand changes to society and within cultures over time

  • access eyewitness accounts from the people who documented their experiences and interactions

  • engage with mātauranga Māori

  • explore a range of perspectives

  • challenge their own attitudes, values and beliefs.

They support the development of key skills such as:

  • identifying and exploring relationships from the past and in the present

  • identifying sources and perspectives

  • interpreting past experiences, decisions and actions

  • sequencing events and thinking about causes and consequences

  • evaluating evidence to identify gaps or missing voices

  • knowing how to search for valid, reliable and trusted primary sources.

Culturally responsive pedagogy and primary sources

Aotearoa New Zealand's classrooms and communities reflect diverse backgrounds, identities and cultures. Using primary sources in the classroom requires culturally responsive pedagogy and careful consideration about how resources may impact ākonga.

Designing learning experiences that respect and value different worldviews is vital for ākonga of all cultural backgrounds, including ethnicity, disability, religious and gender-diverse communities.

The New Zealand Curriculum includes several principles, which are relevant to the use of primary sources in mainstream schools in Aotearoa New Zealand:

Special consideration is needed when using primary sources that are connected to iwi Māori. This includes primary sources that are historical or contemporary. It's essential to seek to build robust and reciprocal relationships with learners, their whānau, and local hapū and iwi so they can provide guidance. Ministry of Education documents (listed below) also provide support. These outline best practice to help maintain and enhance the hauora (health) of ākonga Māori and their whānau.

For Pacific learners, use of primary sources must take into account the unique realities and lived experiences of each ākonga. It's important to acknowledge that a Pacific learner's educational journey is a communal one, woven into the past. This will provide a foundation to build a safe and engaging learning environment for Pacific learners that empower them to succeed.

Resources to support culturally responsive pedagogy

The following documents from the Ministry of Education, the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and The Education Hub provide guidance on culturally responsive pedagogy for learners in Aotearoa New Zealand.

  • Te Takanga o te Wā — a valuable resource for teaching Māori history in years 1–8. The suggested pedagogy section (page 3) includes advice about using primary sources and connecting this with local curriculum design.

  • Tātaiako: Cultural competencies for teachers of Māori learners — provides guidance about culturally responsive pedagogy for ākonga Māori. It identifies 5 key competencies or ngā uara (values) that can inform the use of primary sources.

  • Building and growing cultural competence — provides guidance on how to be sensitive and responsive to people from diverse backgrounds, identities and cultures. It includes our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Pacific communities, refugees and migrants, deaf culture and LGBTQIA+.

  • What is culturally responsive teaching? — an overview of culturally responsive pedagogy. Topics include what is culture, why culturally responsive pedagogies are important, and guidance on how kaiako can become more culturally responsive in their teaching.

  • Our Code, Our Standards | Ngā Tikanga Matatika Ngā Paerewa — sets out the codes and standards for the teaching profession, underpinned by ngā uara that give helpful insights into how to approach the use of primary sources.

Books to support culturally responsive pedagogy for ākonga Māori

The following publications are accessible and reliable sources of information about te ao Māori and tikanga Māori. These books provide knowledge that can help build competency in culturally responsive pedagogy for ākonga Māori:

When you use primary sources, be aware of any usage restrictions and copyright requirements. These are usually made clear in the information provided with each item.

Check if your school has guidelines for responsible use of other people's work. If you're unsure about how to use resources responsibly:

National Library copyright and privacy explains how our web content and information should be used.

Where to find primary sources

Explore the online collections below to access quality, trusted primary sources for local (including iwi and hapū), national and international contexts.

National Library collections

Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library of New Zealand has a comprehensive collection of digitised primary sources.

  • Topic Explorer — helps you find quality, curated resources on a range of topics to support and inspire inquiry from a range of trusted national and international sources.

  • National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library collections — access thousands of digitised primary source items from our collections.

  • Papers Past — delivers digitised full-text New Zealand and Pacific content covering newspapers, magazines and journals, letters and diaries, and parliamentary papers.

  • DigitalNZ — contains millions of digitised items drawn from New Zealand cultural institutions like libraries, museums, art galleries, government departments, the media and community groups. You can create sets to share your own galleries of primary sources.

Aotearoa New Zealand collections

Further primary source collections from Aotearoa New Zealand.

International collections

  • Digital Pasifik — a collection of primary source materials to explore, discover, view and celebrate the rich diverse cultural heritage of the Pacific.

  • Trove — brings together content from Australian libraries, museums, archives, repositories, and other research and collecting organisations.

  • Europeana — this European ‘digital library’ contains millions of digitised primary sources.

  • Library of Congress — primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States.

Online tools to analyse primary sources

National Library Services to Schools has developed a suite of primary source analysis tools specifically for Aotearoa New Zealand schools. The tools are designed to support 3 levels of critical thinking and inquiry skills (explore, analyse and critically analyse) for years 1 to 13.

The following tools refer to American contexts and may need to be modified for use with Aotearoa New Zealand content and contexts.