RAFT: Roles, Audience, Format, Topic

Classroom Examples of RAFTs

This unique strategy integrates reading and writing by asking students to demonstrate their comprehension of a text by creating a brand new text. The strategy may be used with fiction or nonfiction texts. The flexible format can be used creatively by teachers and students.

(Reading Strategies: Scaffolding Student Interactions with Texts. Greece Central School District. Greece, NY
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Reading/Reading%20Strategies/RAFT.htm)

Applications of RAFT in Core Content Classrooms

Reading Comprehension
Vandervanter, N. Strategies for Reading Comprehension: RAFT Papers. In Adler, 1982.
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/raft.html

Strategic Reading
Strategic Reading. Somers NY Staff Development Web Site (2000)
http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/raftexs.html

Online Instruction
Online Instructional Strategies: RAFT. Saskatoon Public School Division, Saskatchewan, CN.
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/raft/

Math Application
Create Your Own RAFTS Prompts for Math Class. Writing Fix. Northern Nevada Writing Project. NV.
http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Math.htm

Effective Writing
Teaching the Features of Effective Writing: Examples of Student Writing. North Carolina Public Schools.
http://www.learnnc.org/topics/writing/exemplars/09/

Science Writing
Relative Motion: RAFT Writing Activity. NASA Web Site: Journey to the beginning of the solar system. U.S. Government
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/DawnClassrooms/2_ion_prop/development/3_sa_frames.pdf

Secondary Language Arts
Bost & Web. Focus Activity Using RAFT: A lesson plan for grade 10 English Language Arts. Learning NC. K-12 Teaching and Learning. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education.
http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/burrbost11192004597