RAFT Technique..???????

RAFT writing is FUN and an effective technique that inspires students to learn more content material.  RAFT can be used in all subject areas especially health.

RAFT is a system for making sure that students understand their role as a writer, their audience, the format of their work and the expected content.  These key elements are included in every writing assignment.

R:        Role of the writer: who are you?…a doctor, a single parent, a blood cell, a calorie, a famous person, a ripped off consumer?

A:        Audience: to whom is this written? a parent, a child, a famous person, a historical person, teenagers?

F:         Format:  what form will it take?…a letter, a journal, a speech, a memoir?

T:        Topic + Strong verb. Topics will be related to a concept or unit you have learned.  Verbs should plead, convince or clarify.   Example: Write from the perspective of a lung begging a smoker not to smoke.

All  RAFT assignments are written from a viewpoint other than that of a student to an audience other than the teacher in a form other than the standard essay 

Example:

R:        Fetus in the womb

A:        10th grade students

F:         Journal entry

T:         Conditions and growth in the third trimester

V:        Explain life in utero

Oh my! It is really getting crowded in here! And this stuff I'm swimming in - amniotic fluid, I think- well, I've just about had it!  Somebody keeps poking at me, jabbing at my arms and bottom. Sometimes I hear a voice saying, "Oh, did you feel that?" I feel like I'm standing on my head all the time in this upside down position; and I'm all folded up - nowhere to put my arms and legs.  Why I'm eight months old in here and already 15"long. Whoops, there goes another poke; I'm poking back this time! I heard the doctor tell my Mommy that my lungs will be developed soon. It's so dark, I can't wait to get out of this place…and meet my Mom and Dad.