raft writing assignment

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RAFT Writing Strategy & Examples

The RAFT writing strategy is a powerful tool for students to use when composing a variety of writing pieces. The acronym RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. By considering these elements, students can create a clear and focused writing piece that effectively communicates their message to their intended audience.

It is not clear who originated the RAFT writing strategy. However, it has been widely used in education as a way to help students understand the elements of writing and improve their writing skills. It has been used in classrooms across the United States and in other countries, and has been embraced by teachers and students alike.

The “Role” element of RAFT refers to the perspective or voice that the writer will take on in their writing. This could be the first-person perspective of the writer themselves, or it could be the third-person perspective of a character or narrator.

The “Audience” element refers to the intended readers of the writing. Consideration of the audience is important because it will affect the tone and style of the writing, as well as the content that is included.

The “Format” element refers to the structure or form that the writing will take. This could be a letter, a speech, a news article, or any other type of written communication.

Finally, the “Topic” element refers to the subject matter that the writing will cover. This could be a historical event, a personal experience, or an issue of public concern.

Who benefits most from the RAFT strategy? 

The strategy is beneficial for all students, but it can be particularly helpful for those who struggle with writing organization and clarity. By breaking down the writing process into these four elements, students can more easily plan and structure their writing, which can lead to more effective and engaging communication.

There are several reasons why the RAFT strategy is good for students.

First, it helps students focus their writing by requiring them to consider the purpose and audience of their piece. This can make the writing process less overwhelming, as students know exactly what they are trying to accomplish and who they are trying to reach.

Second, the RAFT strategy allows students to think creatively and flexibly about their writing. By considering different roles, audiences, formats, and topics, students can come up with new and unique ideas for their writing.

Third, the RAFT strategy helps students to better understand the purpose and function of different types of writing. By considering the format of their piece, students can learn about the conventions and expectations of different forms of written communication, such as letters, speeches, or articles.

Fourth, the RAFT strategy encourages students to consider the needs and perspectives of their audience. By thinking about who their readers are and what they might be interested in, students can better tailor their writing to their audience.

Fifth, the RAFT strategy helps students to improve their writing skills overall. By considering the various elements of their writing, students can ensure that their pieces are well-organized, clearly written, and effectively communicate their message.

To use the strategy, students can follow these steps:

• Determine the role that they will take on in their writing. Will they be writing from their own perspective, or will they be taking on the perspective of a character or narrator?
• Identify their intended audience. Who will be reading their writing? What are their interests and needs?
• Select a format for their writing. What type of written communication will best suit their purpose and audience?
• Choose a topic for their writing. What subject matter will they be covering?
• Plan and organize their writing, keeping in mind the elements of RAFT.
• Write their piece, using the RAFT elements to guide the content and structure.
• Edit and revise their writing, paying attention to the clarity and effectiveness of their communication.

RAFT Writing Assignment Examples

Example Writing Assignment #1

Role: You are a scientist studying the effects of pollution on marine life.

Audience: The mayor of your city

Format: Letter

Topic: The importance of reducing pollution in our oceans

Instructions:

As a scientist studying the effects of pollution on marine life, you have seen firsthand the devastating impact that pollution can have on the oceans and the creatures that call them home. You are writing a letter to the mayor of your city to persuade her to take action to reduce pollution in the oceans. In your letter, be sure to explain the negative effects of pollution on marine life, provide examples of specific species that are being affected, and suggest specific steps that the city could take to reduce pollution. 

Example Writing Assignment #2

Role: You are a student at a local high school

Audience: Your classmates

Format: Persuasive speech

Topic: The importance of getting enough sleep

You are giving a persuasive speech to your classmates to encourage them to prioritize sleep and to explain the benefits of getting a good night’s rest. In your speech, be sure to explain the negative effects of not getting enough sleep, such as poor grades, difficulty concentrating, and a weakened immune system. Provide examples of the benefits of getting enough sleep, such as improved mood, better grades, and better overall health. 

Example Writing Assignment #3

Role: You are the nursing home director

Audience: The nursing home’s board of directors

Format: Memo

Topic: The importance of providing more nutritious food for nursing home residents

As the nursing home director, you are responsible for the well-being of the residents in your care. You have noticed that the food being served to the residents is not as nutritious as it could be, and you believe that this is having a negative impact on their health. You are writing a memo to the nursing home’s board of directors to suggest that the food provided to residents should be more nutritious. In your memo, be sure to explain the negative effects of poor nutrition on the health of nursing home residents, provide examples of specific health issues that could be caused by a poor diet, and suggest specific steps that the nursing home could take to improve the nutrition of the food that is served. 

Example Writing Assignment #4

Role: You are a high school student

Audience: Your parents

Format: Persuasive letter

Topic: The importance of traveling to Europe during the summer

As a high school student, you are excited about the opportunity to travel to Europe during the summer. However, you know that your parents might have concerns about the cost and safety of such a trip. You are writing a persuasive letter to your parents to convince them that it is important for you to travel to Europe during the summer. In your letter, be sure to explain the benefits of travel. Provide examples of specific experiences and opportunities that you would have on the trip, and address any concerns that your parents might have about cost and safety. 

In conclusion, the RAFT writing strategy is a valuable tool for students to use when composing a variety of writing pieces. By considering the role, audience, format, and topic of their writing, students can create a clear and focused piece that effectively communicates their message to their intended audience. Whether you’re a student navigating the choppy waters of high school English or a seasoned sailor navigating the vast ocean of professional writing, the RAFT strategy is sure to keep you afloat.

Reading and Writing Strategies

RAFT Writing

The RAFT strategy encourages students to write creatively, consider a topic from a different perspective, and to gain practice writing for different audiences.

Download a Graphic Organizer

RAFT is a writing strategy that helps students understand their role as a writer, the audience they will address, the varied formats for writing, and the topic they’ll be writing about. 

• R ole of the Writer: Who are you as the writer? A pilgrim? A soldier? The President?
• A udience: To whom are you writing? A political rally? A potential employer?
• F ormat: In what format are you writing? A letter? An advertisement? A speech?
• T opic: What are you writing about?

Why use the RAFT strategy?

Students must think creatively and critically in order to respond to prompts, making RAFT a unique way for students to apply critical thinking skills about new information they are learning. RAFT writing can be used across disciplines as a universal writing approach.

How to create and use the strategy

• Walk students through the acronym RAFT and why it’s important to consider various perspectives when completing any writing assignment.
• Display a RAFT writing prompt to your class and model how you would write in response to the prompt.
• Have students react to another writing prompt individually, or in small groups. It works best if all students react to the same prompt so the class can learn from each other’s responses.
• As students become comfortable in reacting to RAFT prompts, you can create more than one prompt for students to respond to after reading, a lesson, or a unit of study. Varied prompts allow students to compare and contrast multiple perspectives, deepening their understanding of the content.

Sample RAFT prompts

R:  Citizen A:  Congress F:  Letter T:  Taxation

R:  Scout Finch  A:  Community of Monroeville, Alabama F:  Eulogy for Atticus Finch T:  Social Inequality

Strategy in action

For more RAFT prompts, review Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey’s compiled list of Picture Book RAFT prompts . You may also find a RAFT scoring rubric and additional RAFT examples helpful as you implement the RAFT strategy in your class. Now, let’s watch as a teacher uses the RAFT writing strategy in her science class.

Tips for success

• It’s important for students to learn how their writing may change for different perspectives. It’s helpful to show students examples of writings on the same topic and format but with different roles of the writer or audience.
• Once students are fluent using the RAFT strategy, they can take any topic and choose the role, audience, and format on their own.

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RAFT Writing Template

About this printout

Students can utilize this printout to organize their writing as they learn to use the RAFT strategy .  This printout enables students to clearly define their role, audience, format, and topic for writing.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try, related resources.

By using this printout to organize their writing, students learn to respond to writing prompts that require them to write creatively, to consider a topic from a different perspective, and to gain practice writing for different audiences.

The four categories of focus for a RAFT include:

• R ole of the Writer: Who are you as the writer? A movie star? The President? A plant?
• A udience: To whom are you writing? A senator?  Yourself? A company?
• F ormat: In what format are you writing? A diary entry? A newspaper?  A love letter?
• T opic: What are you writing about?

Before having students write their own RAFT, use this printout to model how students should use this technique.  Discuss with your students the basic premise of the content for which you’d like to write, but allow students to help you pick the role, audience, format, and topic to write about.  Allow student input and creativity as you craft your piece of writing.  Have an in-depth discussion specifically about why you chose the different categories that you decided on ( R ole, A udience, F ormat, T opic).  Model a think-aloud about why having a certain role and audience might make your stance or ideas about a certain topic different and may alter your writing style and, therefore, your format. See the Strategy Guide titled Using the RAFT Writing Strategy for more information and ideas pertaining to this technique.

• Give students a writing prompt (for which you have already chosen the role, audience, format, and topic) and have students react to the prompt either individually or in small groups, using this printout. It works best if at first, all students react to the same prompt so the students can learn from the varied responses of their classmates.  Hold a class discussion about how students created their personal version of the assignment.
• As students become comfortable in reacting to RAFT prompts, you can create more than one prompt for students to respond to after a reading, lesson, or unit.  Or, you may choose to give students a list of choices for each area and let them pick and choose their role, audience, format, and topic.
• Eventually, students may choose a role, audience, format, and topic entirely on their own.  Varied prompts allow students to compare and contrast multiple perspectives, deepening their understanding of the content.
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RAFT Writing

I first heard of RAFT writing several years ago as a strategy for students to show their content knowledge beyond just writing reports.  Most of the suggestions for use have been in upper grades classrooms, especially in middle school and high school.  It’s also a common format for writing in content areas to have students demonstrate their understanding of the topic that has been learned- often as a product at the end of the unit. RAFT Writing has students respond when the Role, Audience, Format, and Topic are laid out for students to do their writing, often showcasing their content knowledge.  It’s also a great tool to help teachers write prompts for those content areas.

Over the years, however, I’ve used RAFT as a writing strategy for analyzing prompts in elementary school with students as young as first grade.  RAFT has allowed me to give students experience and exposure with various writing types, build in creative writing into our writing centers, and give students a tool to use for state testing to analyze the prompts their given and respond appropriately.

RAFT is an acronym identifying the four aspects of a writing prompt:

R- Role (who is the character/narrator and their point of view)

A- audience (who is the writing for), f- format (what type of writing is expected), t- topic (what you are writing about).

Examples of RAFT in content areas could be: ~Write an article as if you were a water droplet going through the water cycle.

~Write a story as a water droplet going through the water cycle.

~Pretend you are a child in 1774 in what will eventually be America. Describe what your life is like.

RAFT Writing is commonly used as essay responses at the end of units to measure students’ content knowledge.  It’s also used in more open ended ways allowing for differentiation; the role and audience may be the only pieces given and students are able to choose the format and specific topic.  Or, students are given the topic and format, but can choose their role and the audience.  This is most often done in intermediate classrooms and higher as the focus is on the subject and content that has been taught, and not on the writing itself.

I’ve used RAFT as a strategy in other ways in my elementary classroom, and with other classes and groups of students, with good success.

RAFT Writing in the Primary Grades

I have used RAFT Writing with students as young as first grade as a way of building creative writing. In first grade I introduce it by explaining each of the components.  We then generate, together, several different items for each component. We generally do about 4-6 and often use students in the class or people in the school as the role and audience. This helps make the task relevant to students. We then roll a dice to choose which item from each category we’ll use.  We do a shared writing of it together, the first time. Then, we select another for the students to complete independently.  After students are familiar with RAFT and how it can be used to generate a writing task, I use my RAFT Writing cards as an option during our centers to build students’ creative writing.

RAFT Writing as a Test Prep Strategy

I also really like using RAFT as a test prep strategy.  On the state tests, students are given an on-the-spot prompt to respond to.  Often, it’s in response to reading, and students are expected to respond from a range of genres.  In my experience, students struggle to identify the proper genre to respond to or miss out on other key pieces of information, such as writing from a character’s perspective.  With my third graders, it’s so important to me that they have a strategy to “attack” a difficult task that is given to them.  RAFT is a strategy that can make them break down the prompt and help them feel ready to respond successfully.

We do our main writing work during our writers workshop four days a week. However, one day a week, we do specific RAFT practice. I begin the year doing various narrative writing tasks with RAFT, though I introduce it with examples of all 3 genres. I want my students to be successful with it so I don’t typically do much of the other genres until we have explicitly done them together. However, I will occasionally do something like a how-to, or something opinion based that I know they have strong feelings about. Our weekly RAFT practice gives my students an opportunity to work through the genres in a more spiral way than we typically do during writers workshop. It also allows me to continue to do focused lessons on specific strategies I want to see in their writing.  This pre-writing step has made a world of difference for my students as they tackle the demands of state testing writing prompts!

After I’ve introduced and practiced RAFT with my students, we begin analyzing prompts. Using the strategy to think through and plan writing with the acronym is why it’s so effective and useful. This easy form is one I use when I begin having students independently analyze their writing prompts.  I have students identify each area of RAFT and then I work to correct any misconceptions.  You can download the free page by clicking the image below.

I also offer a variety of free RAFT writing resources in my free library. As we practice RAFT throughout the year, we move on to students writing based on the the prompt information. These printables and templates have us up and working with a prompt in just a few quick seconds. I have 5 ready to print digital RAFT prompts ready to go!

You can download each of them from my Free Library. To access it, sign up for my newsletter. After confirmation, you’ll receive an email with the link and password to access each of the files for yourself.

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RAFT is such a useful writing strategy that can be incorporated in so many different ways in the classroom.  In addition to our writing block, I also use digital prompt writing and journals to give students much needed practice responding to prompts on a regular basis.  You can read more about that by clicking the link below.

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I'd done it often in 4th grade, but not with much success in 2 nd. They have so much trouble, it seems, with " role" ( writing from that perspective) . I do love the format and the creativity it allows.

I started with silly ones like kindergartener. They were so excited to write with incorrect spelling and backwards letters. I let them do it once, but then they got it! Maybe it's also a developmental shift for them right about that age.

Cute idea! (You know that this is Debi, don't you, not Kelley? I can't figure out how to get her name off the account.)

Yes, I just figured you were on the wrong account 🙂

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RAFT: Role, Audience, Format, Topic

The RAFT strategy employs writing-to-learn activities to enhance understanding of informational text. Rather than write a traditional essay to explain a concept, students demonstrate their understanding in a nontraditional format. This technique encourages creative thinking and motivates students to reflect in unusual ways about concepts they have read.

RAFT is an acronym that stands for:

• Role of the writer: What is the writer's role: reporter, observer, eyewitness, object, number, etc.?
• Audience : Who will be reading the writing: the teacher, other students, a parent, editor, people in the community, etc.?
• Format : What is the best way to present this writing: in a letter, an article, a report, a poem, an advertisement, email, etc.?
• Topic : Who or what is the subject of this writing: a famous scientist, a prehistoric cave dweller, a character from literature, a chemical element or physical object, etc.?

The RAFT strategy encourages students to process information, rather than merely prepare answers to questions. Varied prompts allow students to compare and contrast multiple perspectives, deepening their understanding of the content when shared. Students are more motivated to undertake the writing assignment because it can be customized to fit different learning styles.

Implementation

• Decide on an area of study currently taking place in your classroom for which you could collaborate with the students and write a class RAFT.
• Think about the concepts or process skills that you want students to learn as they read a selected passage.
• Imagine how writing in a fun way may enhance students' understanding of the topic or concept.
• Brainstorm possible roles students could assume in their writing.
• Decide who the audience would be as well as the format for writing.
• After students have finished the reading, identify the role, audience, format and topic (RAFT) for the writing assignment.
• Assign the same role for all students, or let them choose from several different roles.

Classroom Management

• Describe the various perspectives that writers must consider when completing any writing assignment.
• Have a class think-aloud to come up with ideas for the piece of writing that you will create as a group.
• Review the basic content of the reading, but allow students to select the role, audience, format, and topic to write about.
• Model how you would write in response to the prompt.
• Allow student input and creativity as you craft your piece of writing.

Collaborative Groups Made Simple

Ten Interesting Facts…The American Civil War

RAFT Writing Strategy

• By Gay Miller in Writing

June 24, 2014

RAFT is a writing strategy to help students focus on four areas of communication. This strategy helps students understand and convey information on a given topic.  RAFT is an acronym for the following :

R ole of the Writer – The role is the perspective. Is the writer the President of the United States, a fifth-grade small-town student, a famous athlete, or any number of people? The role might include animals or inanimate objects such as toys. 

A udience – The audience includes any person that will read the writing. This could be a large group such as a school body or an individual such as a school principal. 

F ormat – Writing comes in all formats. Think letter, petition, instructions, television commercial, travel guide, newspaper article, journal entry, speech, and so on.

T opic – The topic is what you will be writing about. This can include endless possibilities.

An Example RAFT

A RAFT assignment might look like this:

Students are required to select one item from each column. One student may be a teacher writing a song for a group of parents asking them to change a rule in the school. Another person may be an artist addressing peers on a billboard that will inform them of an event. Dozens of options may be selected from just this one RAFT assignment.

This writing strategy not only helps students understand the varied formats of writing, but to know the audience they will address, their role as writers, and writing topics.

Get RAFT Activities here .

Teaching standards.

A RAFT lesson covers many teaching standards. In addition to the four areas of communication, assignments may also practice specific skills. For example, in the printables below the RAFT activity requires students to use onomatopoeia and/or alliteration.

The RAFT strategy works well with literature. Have students write from the perspective of one character addressing another character about a conflict in the novel.

RAFT may be used with science and social studies topics as well. The writer could be an apple talking to the other apples on the tree describing traveling through the digestive system. A chemist might write an email to workers in a factory explaining the dangers of mixing specific chemicals. A black bear could create a sign to post in the forest telling why he can’t eat the trout due to the harmful effects of acid rain. The role may be a pioneer creating a journal entry about the hardships of traveling by wagon.

You are only limited by your imagination. 

Differentiating Instruction

The best part of the RAFT experience is the ease to differentiate instruction. For example, I placed students into three groups. Each group was given two choices of activities. The activities varied in difficulty from the easiest level which was mostly drawing activities to the most difficult which was creating a slogan for advertising or a comic strip.

When I used this activity in the classroom, students had to think creatively to complete these activities. The projects were challenging yet fun for the students. All in all, it was a great experience. I will defiantly use this project in future years.

Free Printable

Below are the 3 RAFT activities I have referred to in the example above. I’ve merged all the activities into one Google Slide presentation. A link in the handout will take you to the Google Slide version which is completely editable.

If you missed the link above, here it is again.

Get it here.

The RAFT writing strategy can be used to help students understand and convey information on a given topic.

You might also like the post

Choice Boards (Think-Tac-Toe, BINGO, Menus, RAFT, & 1-3-5) .

This post goes over several types of choice boards and offers a free PowerPoint template.

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Helping Multilingual Learners Thrive

RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) Assessment: Great way to assess Multilingual Learners

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Choice in writing and assessment can be motivating and builds in differentiation, so you don't have to create a bunch of assignments for each student to meet them where they are. One of the most versatile and creative writing strategies is the RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic). As the teacher, you can provide parameters for this assignment connected to a goal or standard from your content area. This assignment/assessment leads students to understand the purpose for writing, the audience they are writing to, the varied formats of writing in everyday life, and the specific topic that will be their theme. It's fantastic for Multilingual Learners because they can delve deep into a topic without providing a language-heavy document. All students benefit from higher-order thinking, creatively stretching and focusing directly on how they need to write to address specific audiences.

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The following questions help students define with more depth the different aspects of the RAFT paper.

Role of the Writer: Who or what are you as the writer? An activist? A soldier? The President? Audience: To whom are you writing? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a newspaper? Format: In what format are you writing? A letter? A poem? A speech? Topic and strong verb: What are you writing about? Why? What's the subject or the point?

Ways to teach RAFT explicitly, especially the first time you introduce it.

Project a completed RAFT example.

Describe each of the components of the RAFT: role, audience, format, and topic. (It may be helpful to have students in small groups create a large chart paper or a bulletin board for future reference).

On a projector, model how to write responses to the prompts and discuss the key elements as a class. Keep this as simple and concise as possible for newcomers to the language.

Have students practice responding to prompts individually or in small groups. At first, it may be best to have all students react to the same prompt so the class can learn from varied responses.

The RAFT strategy has been adapted for students from K-12 and beyond. I use RAFT in my college classroom. Thinking of these four different aspects pushes them to think more deeply. I have listed some strategies that are particularly useful for MLs.

MLs can review the RAFT concept and assignment orally first. Have students work in pairs to explain what is meant by role, audience, format, and topic.

In small groups, students can create anchor charts describing and illustrating each of the elements of RAFT.

Have students role-play explanations of the different aspects of RAFT assignment.

Allow students to create bi- or multi-lingual responses to the RAFT assignment.

Encourage less language-heavy formats such as brochures, slides, or posters for those at the beginning stages of proficiency.

Pair students together to create RAFT assignments with clear expectations for both students. Be mindful of the linguistic capabilities of both students for the final product.

Provide models of RAFTs for students to use as scaffolding for completing their own.

MLs who know the content or topic of the RAFT may be able to produce more depth within the RAFT, especially if they are encouraged to look up material in their primary language.

Sample RAFT for a math class!

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Have you used the RAFT before with Multilingual Learners?

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RAFT (Writing)

What is RAFT Writing? Maybe we've heard of it. Maybe we've seen it in a workshop? Maybe we've tried it.... RAFT is one of my favorite writing strategies that is EASILY and discretely differentiated and my students LOVED. They would request RAFT writing and cheer when I pulled it out. Towards the end of the year I would have them create their own lists and options. Whether it was Science and we were choosing to be a scientist, inventor, researcher .... or Social Studies where they choose to be a historian, historical figure, a bystander, a hero, or a real life villain ... even math where they pretended to be a fraction or a variable and address a triangle, a student, a whole number or algebraic expression .... it really got the kids engaged. If you choose to do a RAFT assignment make sure to gear it to what your learning objective is - what do you want your students to gain from this when they walk out the door ... and then CREATE it to meet your classroom needs! I have a list a few resources that can help with the organization and creative process (Smarter not Harder!).

RAFT stands for R ole A udience F ormat T opic

Role - Who are you (impersonating)?

Audience - Who are you writing to engage?

Format - what type of writing are you using?

Topic - What are you writing about

So how do I differentiate this?

Yes it is true this is differentiated in it's very nature - challenge by choice and letting students pick what they are most comfortable with, however, we still may need to guide them to reach their capabilities, challenge them, and allow students to work at their independent levels (ideally we want all of our students finishing at the same time too - that is what DI is ... Student A may take 45 minutes to write an Essay; Student B may take 45 minutes to write a caption - both students are demonstrating knowledge in different ways.

Make sure to create a rubric that lists expectations. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE I MADE .... HERE IS ANOTHER (not mine)

Create dice with these ideas - or number each list #1-6 and have students role a dice. Another idea is to choose our of a hat.

1. Create multiple lists - depending on the level of higher order thinking you are looking to achieve (remember to level the complexity - don't just make it "easy.")

2. Vary the requirements

List 1 ~ F ormat choices: essay, 10-15 stanza poem, newspaper article (which should include an interview with spectators), detailed image with a caption, obituary, a children's book, a fairy tale, a brochure

List 2 ~ F ormat choices: a paragraph, a 4-6 stanza poem, a newspaper interview, an image with a caption, a children's story, an advertisement

3. Vary the Topic choices:

List 1 (more abstract) : A key battle of the Revolutionary War (include a link or give a few options) ; A turning point of the war; A weapon that could not have been lived without; Taxation Without Representation

List 2 (more specific): The Battle of Monmouth; The strategic Red oat Defense; To explain the Boston Tea Party; The dedication and endurance of the Colonists

4. Vary the Role:

List 1: You are a newspaper columnist; you are a British housewife; you are a 14 year old British Soldier; you are a mother at home during the Battle of ____; you are the tea crates on the ship in the harbor

List 2: You are the king; you are a colonist; you are red coat soldier; you are a British Soldier

RAFTs – Differentiated for Learner Success

by John McCarthy | May 5, 2014 | Differentiated Instruction , strategies , Writing | 1 comment

In the previous two articles, we explored RAFTs (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic + Strong Verb) as an instructional strategy , and how to use RAFTs for coaching writers on writing . RAFTs can ignite engagement and context for learning. Planned with forethought, students can explore a need or problem that exists in the world beyond the classroom walls. An important consideration is: How do I differentiate RAFTs to support my diverse learners? The solution is simple, yet has layers of possibilities when implemented based on an understanding of your students.

Interests are activated by giving students several options to choose from. Take this even further by having a blank option—allowing for students to craft their own RAFTs based on the topic–a great way to foster Student Voice.

Readiness : Differentiating RAFTs based on Readiness requires the most planning, which results in worthwhile learner experiences. Sometimes students have different levels of a skill or concept. One to two prompts are crafted to match the academic level of each group of students. Having more than one prompts encourages student interests because they have choices. Prompts are assigned based on formative assessment data . The learners, individually or in groups, work at the RAFTs that will stretch them appropriately.

• RAFTing the Writing Rapids
• RAFTs: Coaching Writing Tips

Very motivational.

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Seventh-day Adventists are devoted to helping people understand the Bible to find freedom, healing, and hope in Jesus.

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RAFT Assignments & Rubrics to Engage Students in Learning

The RAFT method is an approach to engaging students, designing assignments and rubrics, and providing opportunities for students to customize learning to their own learning styles.

The RAFT method is an approach to projects that is designed for engaging students, creating assignments and rubrics, and providing opportunities for students to customize learning to their own learning styles. It is student-directed differentiation at its best, and yet can be held to a rigorous evaluation standard. Here is how it works.

R – ROLE The R stands for ROLE. The students determine the role they wish to take in the presentation of the project. For instance, in a nursing program, students could speak from the perspective of the patient, nurse, doctor, family member, hospital administration, or community at large. In a fifth grade science classroom, students could speak from the perspective of the frog, pond, scientist observing the frog, wildlife federation, or community where the pond is. The ROLE of the learner is entirely up to each learner.

A – AUDIENCE The A stands for AUDIENCE. The students choose the audience to whom they are presenting. In many cases, the options for audiences could be similar to the ones available for the role.

F – FORMAT The F stands for FORMAT. This is the format in which the assignment is presented. Students have the freedom to choose if they wish to write a research paper, do a presentation, create a short video, Prezi, or power point, do a play, facilitate a debate, create a gallery photo display, or any other presentation type that they can come up with. Freedom in format liberates the student in how to present their work.

T – TOPIC The T stands for TOPIC. Several topics are chosen by the teacher and presented to the students to choose from. Given the many options in each of the 4 categories R.A.F.T. student generated projects will be widely diverse even if the topics are limited.

A teacher may get overwhelmed with the amount of options that students have. To make things easier, a teacher can simply choose to give students options in one of the four factors, instead of all four. For instance, the teacher could choose the role, the audience, and the topic, and let the students choose the format of their presentations.

Invariably the question from teachers is “How do I measure the success of the students equitably when there are so many project options?”  The easiest way to achieve this is to use a standardized rubric that fits all project options and holds all students to the same rigor in assignment production. There are a wide variety of categories that can be used for the rubric that will apply to any project, such as the introduction, focus, grammar and mechanics, sequencing and completeness, communication, word choice, communication, audience awareness, communication, APA Style, discipline inclusion, and conclusion.

While it can require a mental shift for the teacher, allowing students freedom in creating their projects can increase student engagement and allow them to connect with the material in the way that works best for them personally.

Sample Rubric for RAFT Projects

Sharon, PhD, is a consultant full time, currently working for 4 organizations: Adjunct Faculty at Andrews University in the graduate leadership department, Adjunct faculty at Notre Dame of Maryland University - leading their School of Nursing Competency-based Curriculum Revisioning, a researcher and author with the NAD Center for Research and Evaluation, and works half time for the General Conference as a contractor with the Virtual Exhibition Team and the Adventist COLLECTIVE. Sharon worked as the Associate Director of the Adventist Learning Community & Associate Director for the North American Division Office of Education. Sharon is a Registered Nurse by trade, with 16 years experience as Surgical Nurse and Nurse Educator at The Scarborough Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. She also has 11 years experience as a Professor of Nursing and Professional Development Specialist for faculty at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in Toronto, Ontario.

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HistoryRewriter

Raft writing prompts.

Graham & Herbert demonstrate the necessity of daily writing activities in Social Studies content classes. My students demonstrate their understanding of History standards via MEAL and RAFT writing assignments. As a general rule, a MEAL prompt is designed to help students analyze evidence to support an argument, while a RAFT prompt requires students to inform/explain a historical topic to an audience. This post will feature examples from an 11th grade US History class. See Dare to Differentiate’s wiki for more examples and instructions.

Role  of the writer – helps the writer decide on point of view and voice. Audience  for the piece of writing – reminds the writer that he must communicate ideas to someone else and helps the writer determine content and style. Format  of the material – helps the writer organize ideas and employ the conventions of format, such as letters, interviews, and story problems. Topic or subject of the piece of writing – helps the writer focus on main ideas.

For this in-class writing assignment, students chose one out of four RAFT writing prompts. Students were allowed to use the book to complete this assignment, in fact it was designed to help them read the text. After a certain amount of time usually 20 minutes, students swapped papers, read each other’s work, then underlined the number of facts from the book included in the RAFT and reported out those numbers. I used this as a goal-setting strategy and it may or may not be used a factor when grading.

You are a 1950’s Police Officer warning a white church group about the dangers of Juvenile Delinquency.

You are a farmer, in favor of the Bracero program. Write a letter to your Congressman persuading him to continue the program, even though the American public is against it.

You are an African American inner-city resident speaking to the NAACP about the assistance needed for the city’s poorest residents.

RAFT assignments can be used regularly to get students writing about texts, responding to texts, and summarizing texts. As a bonus, these writing assignments all have a significant correlation with improving reading comprehension. Please share examples of RAFT prompts, noting the grade level and subject it was used for in the comments section.

Fisher, D., Brozo, W.G., Frey, N., & Ivey, G. (2011). Fifty Instructional Routines to Develop Content Literacy . 2nd Ed. Pearson. Boston, MA.

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One thought on “raft writing prompts”.

I have used these in my classes to a great extent and written about it: http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/7.3/gregg.html

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Helping history teachers become writing teachers.

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