R.A.F.T. s

1. R.A.F.T. s A “mini-overview” Presented by Amy Harker

2. RAFT definition A R.A.F.T. is a type of reading reflection strategy that is used to enhance conceptual understanding of ideas and information It is an information processing strategy. It takes the thought process up the Bloom’s taxonomy level….

3. RAFT RAFT is an acronym that stands for Role of the student. What is the student’s role: reporter, observer, eyewitness, object? (Role handout) Audience. Who will be addressed by this raft: the teacher, other students, a parent, people in the community, an editor, another object? Format. What is the best way to present this information: in a letter, an article, a report, a poem, a monologue, a picture, a song? (Product handout) Topic. Who or what is the subject of this writing: a famous mathematician, a prehistoric cave dweller, a reaction to a specific event?

4. RAFT Activities Language Arts & Literature Science History Math Format based on the work of Doug Buehl cited in Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me Then Who? Billmeyer and Martin, 1998

5. Example…Social Studies Elementary

6. RAFT for Lion, Witch, Wardrobe

7. Process 1 in creating a RAFT activity Think about the concepts or ideas that you want students to learn as they read or research (RAFT can be used either as an extension of reading a particular novel or as an extension of a study of a particular topic in Math, Social Studies, or Science)

8. RAFT Process 2. Brainstorm possible roles students could assume in their “writing” (reporter, eyewitness, object, etc.)

9. RAFT Process 3. Decide who the audience would be as well as the format for writing Allow students choice in the Role Once a role is selected, the student must follow the Topic, Format and Audience for that Role

10. RAFT Procedure 1: explain the procedure to the students (what RAFT stands for and the purpose of each of the elements) R – Role of the “writer”: who or what are you? A – Audience: to whom will this “writing” be presented F – Format: what kind of form will the “writing” take (a journal entry, a letter, etc.) T – Topic: what you are being asked to “write” about

11. RAFT Procedure (Modeling) 2. Display a completed RAFT example as a model 3. “Think aloud” another example with the aid of the class 4. Assign students to small, heterogeneous groups or to pairs and have them “put their heads together” to write about a chosen topic with one RAFT assignment between them. Have pairs or groups share.

12. RAFT Procedure (Independent Practice) Have students independently choose a “Role” and “write” on the topic assigned. Remember the closer you have the roles and audience to real life, then the lower the lower level tier it would be to complete. Example: Role: Student, Audience: Teacher, Format: Plot Summary(outline), Topic: Holes