Biology Module Yr 1 - 2010 Instructional Strategies
RAFT - Role/Audience/Format/Topic
http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/RAFT.html
The RAFT strategy (Santa, 1988) offers students a creative outlet for demonstrating understanding. Students communicate information by taking an unusual point of view and writing for a specific audience. RAFT stands for:
Examples of RAFTs:
· Writing aThank You Letter From the World (3rd grade)
· Taking the Perspective of a Desert Inhabitant (3rd grade)
· Describing an Historical Event From a Different Country's Perspective (7th grade)
RAFT: Writing aThank You Letter From the World
· Mrs. Lovelett, Mrs. Sandvoss, Mrs. Schoenberg, Mrs. Stoll (3rd gr. teachers) have students practice their skills at writing a friendly letter from a new perspective. After reading the story, Miss Rumphius, a story about ????, students
· Pretend that they are the world. They write a thank you letter to Miss Rumphius to show their appreciation to her for making the world more beautiful. Students write their letter as the voice of the world. Their audience is Miss Rumphius and their topic is "How Miss Rumphius made you (the world) more beautiful." Students should recall the story events and what Miss Rumphius did to help them write their letters.
RAFT: Taking the Perspective of a Desert Inhabitant
Ms. Lovelett, Mrs. Schoenberg, Mrs. Cannata, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Sandvoss, Mrs. Stoll (3rd gr. teachers) along with Mrs. Ostermann, Library Media Specialist offered their students a number of possible RAFTs upon completion of their study of the desert region. Students chose a RAFT that would allow them to do some creative writing as well as demonstrate their understanding of various aspects of the desert environment (e.g., its animal life, plant life, etc.).
Desert Unit RAFT choices (3rd grade)
Students have the opportunity to do the following RAFT:
Pretend that you are a saguaro cactus. Using what you have learned about this type of cactus, create an advertisement that announces that you have rooms available for rent. Your advertisement should include all the information an "animal" would need to know about the rooms for rent as well as where to contact you if interested. The voice of your advertisement is a saguaro cactus. Your audience is animals that use saguaros as their homes. Be creative and remember to sell yourself as having the best rooms in the desert!
- Ms. Lovelett, Mrs. Schoenberg, Mrs. Stoll, Mrs. Sandvoss
...or to choose from the list below:
ROLE / AUDIENCE / FORMAT / TOPICnomad / oasis / thank you letter / value of water
kangaroo rat / sun / complaint / sun out too long
lost student in the desert / classmates / travel guide / survival tips
saguaro cactus / animals / advertisement / rooms for rent
cook / other cooks / saguaro recipes / jams, candy, etc.
mommy & daddy bats / baby bats / instructions / how to drink nectar from a saguaro cactus
Native American / self / diary / hardships of the desert
camel / Gobi Desert / news release/ interview / sand walk
desert / sun / thank you / sun's role in the desert
camel / water / love letter / water's role in the camel's existence
-Mrs. Schoenberg, Mrs. Cannata, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Stoll,3rd gr. teachers; and Mrs. Ostermann, Library Media Specialist
RAFT: Describing an Historical Event From a Different Country's Perspective [Note: This example is in pdf format. Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.]
Students in Mr. Mullaney's 7th grade social studies class stepped back in time and assumed the role of British journalists reporting on the Boston Tea Party. View the assignment and the assessment criteria used to evaluate the article.
Social Studies example of 7th Grade RAFT: http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/socstudRAFT.pdf
Document Reference: http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/postreadstrat.html