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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.

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.

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 Reason To whom Immediate effect Subsequent effects Time Period

Author Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the author’s point of view?

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?

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? Example:

Time Period When was the document produced? 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.

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 afitzpatrick@aihe.info