History teachers are faced with an impossible dilemma. Voices from every corner urge them to use primary sources. Sources, teachers are told, are to history what the laboratory is to science: the place where the subject becomes most vital. At the same time, any teacher who has used sources knows the many obstacles. Using sources to make history come alive is great in principle, but complicated in practice. The language in which primary sources are written often makes them dauntingly difficult for students. In this article, the authors advocate using simplified versions of documents, which they consider a legitimate practice provided that students are also shown the original document and that it is clear to them that the simplified document is an adaptation. (Contains 2 figures and 10 notes.)