What is A.R.T.I.S.T.? A.R.T.I.S.T. is a method of primary source analysis that allows students to process information in a written or visual source of a historic nature. An acronym, each letter stands for an important part of the process.

What does A.R.T.I.S.T. stand for? Author Reason To whom Immediate effect Subsequent effects Time Period Painting History with Broad Strokes

Author Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the author’s point of view? How might the author’s background and opinion affect the reliability of the source?

Reason What is the reason or purpose of the communication? Why was this source produced at the time it was produced?

To Whom Who was the audience? Why is this so important? How might this affect the reliability of the source? http://www.tvsnob.com/archives/020421.php

Immediate Consequence What were the immediate consequences of the production of the document?

Subsequent Impact What was the subsequent impact of the source under consideration? Did it have significant reverberations or only slight ones?

Time Period When was the document produced? What else was happening at this time? How might this affect the meaning of the source?

Artists Draw Conclusions! After students have applied A.R.T.I.S.T. ask them to draw conclusions from the document or source. Ask leading questions to get your students to fully process the document and its place in history. Have students use this method of analysis every time they are presented with a primary source document.

Who can be an A.R.T.I.S.T.? A.R.T.I.S.T. can be used with Middle and High School students. After a brief introduction to the method teachers can assign students to analyze a source either individually or in small groups.

BECOME AN A R T I S T

A R T T I S

R T I S T A AUTHOR:

T I A S T R REASON:

I S T R A T TO WHOM:

S T T A R I IMMEDIATE EFFECT:

T A I R T S SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS:

A R T S I T TIME PERIOD:

T A K H N Y O U