Purpose
The purpose of using the RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) strategy to accompany a reading is to expand student thinking of a text and apply their understanding to other genres of writing. This is done through connecting to the text in a more meaningful way and activating prior knowledge to adapt the text in various ways. Using this type of strategy promotes student creativity, enhances interest in the material, increases comprehension, improves writing skills, and helps students look at a topic or idea from varying perspectives.
Procedures
To introduce the RAFT strategy to students, they must first understand what it means to create a RAFT. It can be explained as simply as:
R - Role: Writing from a perspective. Who is the writer?
A - Audience: Who are you writing for?
F - Format: What way is the information presented?
T - Topic: Who or what is the subject?
After reading, students can either be assigned a RAFT or create one of their own choosing in order to effectively and creatively retell the story from the text. This can be done in writing or orally, but should conclude with small or large group discussion that reflects on the process of creation. This will help students to get a better idea of the main concepts found in the text due to the multiple perspectives being presented.
R - Role: Writing from a perspective. Who is the writer?
A - Audience: Who are you writing for?
F - Format: What way is the information presented?
T - Topic: Who or what is the subject?
After reading, students can either be assigned a RAFT or create one of their own choosing in order to effectively and creatively retell the story from the text. This can be done in writing or orally, but should conclude with small or large group discussion that reflects on the process of creation. This will help students to get a better idea of the main concepts found in the text due to the multiple perspectives being presented.
Example
A RAFT would be an effective activity to use after the reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. An example of a potential RAFT writing could include the following: Role- A towns-person living in the Puritan settlement of Boston; Audience- Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale; Format- Anonymous letter/ransom note; Topic- This individual would be telling the Reverend that his secret is not safe and that he should confess his sins and renounce his hypocritical ways. This would give students a different perspective to work with in order to better motivate them to engage with the text. This would also be a good method of assessing student comprehension of the content.
References:Central High School, 2012; D'Arcangelo, 2002c