The sources you use should allow you to begin to believe that you are existing at that time in that place, not only by identifying with larger events of the time, but with all aspects of living from day to day. I suggest you e-mail questions to her and use the website she has set up for previous classes. The mini-research assignments are intended to keep you from procrastinating about doing the research and to introduce you to a variety of sources. The mini-research assignments should provide you with a minimum amount of information to complete the project. Failure to complete any of the mini-research assignments will result in your final project grade being lowered substantially.
Primary sources are documents from the time being studied.
Books, newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, movies, speeches or photographs can all be primary sources. Primary sources are documents from the time you are studying. Secondary sources are materials produced by people in a later period. For example, Theodore Roosevelt's speeches are primary sources. Edmund Morris' 1982 biography of Roosevelt is a secondary source.