R.A.F.T. WRITINGRole/Audience/Format/Topic

WHAT IS RAFT WRITING?

RAFT Writing is simply a way to think about the four main things that all writers have to consider:

Role of the WriterWho are you as the writer? Are you Abraham Lincoln? A warrior? A homeless person? An auto mechanic? The endangered snail darter?

AudienceTo whom are you writing? Is your audience the American people? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a newspaper? A local bank?

FormatWhat form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A classified ad? A speech? A poem?

TopicWhat's the subject or the point of this piece? Is it to persuade a goddess to spare your life? To plead for a re-test? To call for stricter regulations on logging?

EXTENSION: S = STRONG VERBS

Incorporate strong verbs to set the tone of your response.

- Admonish, accuse, welcome, pester- Congratulate, pacify, insult, flatter- Interpret, justify, urge, attack- Define, demand, discourage, deny- Scare, inquire, harass, evaluate- Condemn, advise, plea, formulate- Etc.

GENERIC EXAMPLES

Role Audience Format Topic

A black cat Trick-or treaters

a letter of complaint

why am I treated so unfairly over a silly superstition?

A jack-o-lantern Trick-or treaters

a persuasive letter

Don’t smash me or fill me with shaving cream

A pumpkin Children Flyer Don’t rip my insides out and carve me up

Your stomach Trick-or treaters

Letter of complaint

Candy upsets us!

A smart pumpkin Other pumpkins

Instructions Disguise yourself and don’t be picked and carved for Halloween

A broom The witch Letter of resignation

I’m a cleaner – not a flyer!

Teeth Trick-or treaters

Brochure Too much candy gives us cavities!

Search Engine Internet users Web page Inform internet users what you do

EXAMPLE OF COMPLETED RAFT ASSIGNMENT

Role – British soldier sent to the New World

Audience – Parliament Format - Persuasive letter Topic – Appeal to go home

STUDENT’S FINISHED PRODUCT

25 New World StreetBoston, Massachusetts

December 5, 1777

Dear Parliament,

Why did you send us over to the New World? The colonists are not happy with us. They are demanding independence. When we walk down the road, people laugh at us. They hate us. They do not like when we sleep in their houses and eat their food and wear their clothes. Even the children make silly faces at us. They throw rocks and snowballs at us. When can we come home? Most of us are ready to leave and we miss our families. When are you going to respond? Please make it soon.

Respectfully,The British Infantry

DIFFERENTIATING A RAFT BY READINESS(TEACHER ASSIGNS RAFT OR CHOICES OF RAFTS BASED ON STUDENTS’ READING, WRITING OR PERFORMANCE LEVELS)

Roles/Audience- Well-known people or charters to lesser

known - Basic essential items (vocabulary,

inventions, elements, etc.) to more esoteric items

- Easier to understand point-of-view to more intangible perspective

Formats (while offering choices to students)

- Shorter to longer (in prep, process or presentation)

- More familiar to more unfamiliar formats- Single step to multiple steps

POSSIBLE RAFT FORMATS TO DIFFERENTIATE BY LEARNING MODALITYWritten Visual Oral Kinesthetic

Diary entryBulleted listObituaryInvitation RecipeMovie criticFAQsEditorialGossip column

Comic Crossword puzzleMapGraphic organizerPrint adPhotographFashion design

SongMonologueRadiocastMuseum guideInterviewPuppet showPolitical speechStory teller

ModelCheerMimeDemonstrationSales pitch with demosSew, cook, buildWax museum

DIFFERENTIATING A RAFT BY READINESS(CONTINUED)

Topics Easier to interpret to more sophisticated Concrete & literal to more abstract

response More structured to more open-ended Small leap in insight & application to larger

leap

DIFFERENTIATING A RAFT CON’T

The RAFT Chart Development Options- Teacher creates all components of chart- Teacher creates some of the columns of chart

and students plug in options for other columns- Students work to generate all parts of the chart

with teacher parameters

GUIDED PRACTICESample RAFT Sketch #1:R = Tennis ShoeA = teen who wears the same shoe s everydayF = farewell letterT = stop wearing me so much(explanation)Dear Becky,

First of all, didn’t you have other shoes to wear besides me? Its hard to support a fat person . You give me creases, my heels are lowering, my laces are dirty and I’m stretched beyond belief. You never cleaned me, cushion is now flat and hard instead of soft. I stink! My tongue is sticking out, and I’m talking too much. I have holes and you never think about the things I have to go through. Imagine walking through mud, gum, rocks, poop, dirt and water. Now your mom wants to get rid of me. I wish you would have appreciated it me a whole lot better. I guess I’ll see you in another lifetime. Deuces!

SAMPLE RAFT SKETCH #1:R = CAR IN A JUNK YARDA = TEEN WHO DESTROYED THE CARF = FAREWELL LETTERT = TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR (SCOLDING)

Dear Claude,I've been forced to sit in this junk yard for the past year. Every day I've had to face the loss of more and more body parts until there is almost nothing left of me. But tomorrow, my time is up; I'm scheduled to be compacted, so I have to write this letter now. It is hard for me to say this, but I think you need to know you are a real jerk!I gave you the best years of my life, and how did you treat me? You refused to change my oil on a regular basis. (I get cranky when I have a dirty crankcase!) You always fed me the cheapest fuel, never letting me have any fuel containing detergents to help keep my parts clean. You constantly slammed on the brakes, wearing the treads from my tires. You never checked my tire pressure. I had to work extra hard to move with such low pressure in my tires. Do you know how much gas money you wasted over the years by driving on underinflated tires? You never gave me a lube job even though I was constantly screaming for one. I tried so hard to do my best, but you did not lift a finger to help. Oh, no! Here it comes, the big crunch! I've reached the end of my road....CRUNCH!

MATH EXAMPLES