1.+RAFT+-+Description+and+Purpose

A RAFT is a teaching strategy that can be used in several subject areas. The most obvious is English Language Arts, but the strategy can also be used in Social Studies, Math and Science. The RAFT strategy has become popular partly because it presents many differentiation opportunities and partly because it encourages more authentic writing by all students across the curriculum.Most RAFTS are written from a point of view that is not the student and to an audience who is not the teacher. It was developed by Nancy Vandervanter, a junior high teacher, who developed it during her participation in the Montana Writing Project ( Santa , 1988). 

The RAFT acronym stands for:


 * Role of the Writer** – The perspective of the writer, or who the student is writing as. Is it a Titanic engineer? The Prime Minister? A desert scorpion? A math equation? Queen Victoria?


 * Audience** – Who is going to be reading the material? Who is it intended for? Is it a hotel clerk? A friend? The readers of a newspaper? The Governor General?


 * Format** – What is the writing going to look like? What form will it take? Will it be a letter, a newspaper article, a poem, the transcript of a phone call, or something else entirely?


 * Topic** – Why the piece is being written. This is the purpose or the subject of the writing. It could be to complain about the state of the economy, to thank Michelangelo for painting, to let people know where to find water in the desert, or to persuade Othello that Desdemona is innocent.

Occasionally a ‘bonus letter’ is added to the RAFT. This extra letter is an ‘S’ and stands for __S__trong verb. A strong verb is a word that students should keep in mind when writing their R.A.F.T.S. that can turn the RAFT prompt into a persuasive writing prompt by using words like //convince//, //encourage// or //sway// (“Writing Fix,” 2010).

**Purpose**: The Purpose of the RAFT strategy is to encourage students to write by giving them a middle ground between strict essays and free- and-clear creative writing. RAFT projects give students a chance to make choices and gain more control over their learning. It also fosters imagination and confidence in students who learn that they can create a valuable and interesting piece of literature (“SPS Instructional Strategies,” 2009 ).

**Theory:** The theory behind the RAFT strategy states that it increases **authentic writing**, **higher level thinking** and **content knowledge**.

**Authenticity**: A RAFT makes writing more authentic for students because it requires them to write from a ‘real-world’ perspective. Students are asked to take write meaningfully and to shape their writing according to the role they take on. Another thing that makes a RAFT a more authentic way of writing is that it is geared towards an audience who is different from the teacher. This keeps the writing from becoming a stale series of essays, reports and logs (“Writing Fix,” 2010). When Students see the assignments as authentic they are more likely to find meaning in it and not become so distracted (Bender, 2002).


 * Higher Level Thinking**: As students choose the role they are to take on they develop higher level thinking skills. They must consider the perspective of the persona they choose and must think about what would be important to that person. They must also think about their audience. What would convince or persuade this particular person or group of people? This gives students a chance to look at writing from various angles and to think about it in complex ways. Students become more involved in their writing and it becomes a synthesis of prior knowledge and imagination.


 * Content Knowledge:** Students increase their content knowledge as they consider the viewpoints of the various roles they take on. They must think about what information they are given and pay attention to detail in order to create a convincing piece. Students working on a RAFT assignment increase their comprehension by stimulating their background knowledge and integrating it with new knowledge (Rusnak,94).