Tools for Teaching Content Literacy: R.A.F.

Alexandra Mitchell

Due: 1/9/20

1. What is/are…?
R.A.F.T. is a writing strategy that helps students understand their role as a writer and how to
effectively communicate their ideas and mission clearly so that the reader can easily understand
everything written. Additionally, R.A.F.T. helps students focus on the audience they will
address, the varied formats for writing, and the topic they'll be writing about. By using this
strategy, teachers encourage students to write creatively, to consider a topic from multiple
perspectives, and to gain the ability to write for different audiences. R.A.F.T. assignments
encourage students to uncover their own voices and formats for presenting their ideas about
content information they are studying. Students learn to respond to writing prompts that require
them to think about various perspectives.

Role of the Writer: Who are you as the writer? A movie star? The President? A plant?
Audience: To whom are you writing? A senator? Yourself? A company?
Format: In what format are you writing? A diary entry? A newspaper? A love letter?
Topic: What are you writing about?

2. Why would I teach this strategy?

The more often students write, the more proficient they become as writers. R.A.F.T. is a writing
strategy that helps students understand their role as a writer and how to effectively communicate
their ideas and mission clearly so that the reader can easily understand everything written. This
strategy helps encourage students to think creatively when writing, students can recognize the
importance of voice, can be used across all contents, and allows students to practice writing for
different audiences. This strategy asks essential questions of the writer.

3. How would I teach this strategy? (Step by step directions):

● Engage/Motivate
● Model
● Shared/interactive writing
● Independent or Small group
● Assess
1. Explain to the students how all writers have to consider various aspects before every
writing assignment including role, audience, format, and topic. Tell them that they are
 going to structure their writing around these elements. (It may be helpful to display the
elements on chart paper or a bulletin board for future reference).
2. Display a completed R.A.F.T. example on the Smartboard, and discuss the key elements
as a class.
3. Then, demonstrate, model, and "think aloud" another sample R.A.F.T. exercise with the
aid of the class. Brainstorm additional topic ideas, and write down the suggestions listing
roles, audiences, formats, and strong verbs associated with each topic.
4. Assign students to small, heterogeneous groups of four or five or pairs and have them
"put their heads together" to write about a chosen topic with one R.A.F.T. assignment
between them.
5. Circulate among the groups to provide assistance as needed. Then have the groups share
their completed assignments with the class.
6. After students become more proficient in developing this style of writing, have them
generate R.A.F.T. assignments of their own based on current topics studied in class.

4. How Can I Adapt It?

● This strategy is great for differentiation; teachers (and students) can develop any number
of possible R.A.F.T. based on the same text that can be adjusted for skill level and rigor.
● Paula Rutherford’s book, Instruction for All Students, offers a comprehensive list of
"Products and Perspectives" from which to choose.
● The R.A.F.T. strategy can be used as a prewriting strategy and/or as a strategy for helping
students prepare for a small or large group discussion.

5. Theoretical Framework:
● Examples of different roles, audiences, formats, and topics can be found in a list of
Picture Book RAFTS by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey.

6. APA Sources:

Reddick, C. (2019, December 26). RAFT: Classroom Strategy. Retrieved from

https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/raft.

Using the RAFT Writing Strategy - ReadWriteThink. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/using-raft-writing-
strategy-30625.html.