RAFT

1. RAFT Where critical thinking meets historical information

2. What does it stand for? • R-ole • A-udience • F-ormat • T-opic

3. Role • You will become an historical person from a particular time period. • Just like playing a part in a play, it is important to stay in character throughout your writing. • Importance? • Shows different points of view (south vs. north, teacher vs. student, etc.) • Forces you to think about how events impacted people • Examples: Thomas Jefferson, a farmer from South Carolina, a British soldier

4. Audience • You will be addressing a specific audience throughout your writing. • Importance? • You will say different things to different people (parents, pets, friends, commander, stranger) • Requires you to think about your goal (convince people, excite people, explain yourself, etc.) • Examples: a group of soldiers, Congress, person from another colony

5. Format • Your writing will fit into a certain structure throughout the piece. • Importance? • Can determine what you say and how you say it (slang vs. professional, enthusiasm, private vs. public) • Examples: speech, newspaper article, Facebook page, texting conversation, song, advertisement, comic

6. Topic • Your piece of writing with focus on one important topic. • Importance? • Allows you to SHOW your understanding of the significance of events (Boston Massacre leads to Revolution), while also SHOWING how different events can be viewed differently (Patriots vs. Loyalists) • Examples: Boston Massacre, Election of 2000, right to bear arms

7. RAFT Examples • Role: Aztec Leader • Audience: citizens of Tenochtitlan • Format: speech • Topic: bad year of crops, we need to sacrifice more people

8. Before starting ANY RAFT… • You must figure out the Role, Audience, Format and Topic. • Just changing one category of a RAFT can change a lot!

9. What is the Difference? • Role: Aztec Leader • Audience: modern day American jury • Format: speech • Topic: bad year of crops, we need to sacrifice more people

10. Figuring out the Role, Audience, Format and Topic • Write a letter to Hamilton as a northerner or southerner that displays your thoughts of his plans to relieve the American debt. Make sure to explain what you like about the plan, what you dislike about the plan, and why you feel the way you do. • What’s your role? • Who is your audience? • What format are you writing in? • What is your topic?

11. Figuring out the Role, Audience, Format and Topic • To show that you understand some of the important figures of the Constitution imagine you are one of the Founding Fathers. Create a Facebook page describing your achievements and successes in an effort to convince people to be your friend. • What’s your role? • Who is your audience? • What format are you writing in? • What is your topic?

12. Figuring out the Role, Audience, Format and Topic • To show your understanding of the routes of da Gama and Dias, write a thank you note from the point of view of da Gama to Dias. Describe the importance that Dias played in helping de Gama reach India, as well as share how de Gama hopes his route helps the people in Europe. • What is your role? • Who is your audience? • What is your format? • What is your topic?