RAFTs for Differentiating
September 2013
Krystal Coker
A
RAFT is…
• …an engaging, high level strategy that encourages
writing across the curriculum.
• …a way to encourage students to…
– …assume a role
– …consider their audience
– …examine a topic from a relative perspective
– …write in a particular format
September 2013
Krystal Coker
RAFT acronym
• Role of the Writer - Who are you as the writer? Are you Sir
John A. Macdonald? A warrior? A homeless person? An auto
mechanic? The endangered snail darter?
• Audience - To whom are you writing? Is your audience the
Canadian people? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a
newspaper? A local bank?
• Format - What form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A
classified ad? A speech? A poem?
• Topic + strong Verb - What's the subject or the point of this
piece? Is it to persuade a goddess to spare your life? To plead
for a re-test? To call for stricter regulations on logging?
September 2013
Krystal Coker
RAFTs can…
• Be differentiated in a variety of ways:
readiness level, learning profile, and/or
student interest
• Be created by students
• Be used as introductory hooks into a
unit of study
September 2013
Krystal Coker
Possible RAFT Formats to Differentiate by
Learning Modality
Written
Visual
Oral
Kinesthetic
Diary entry
Bulleted list
Obituary
Invitation
Game rules
Recipe
Movie critic
FAQs
Editorial
Gossip column
Cartoon/Comic
Crossword
puzzle
Map
Graphic
organizer
Print ad
Photograph
Fashion design
Song
Monologue
Radiocast
Museum
guide
Commercial
Interview
Puppet show
Political
speech
Story teller
Model
Cheer
Mime
Demonstration
Sales pitch
with demos
Sew, cook,
build
Wax museum
Game
September 2013
Krystal Coker
Differentiating a RAFT by Readiness
(Teacher assigns RAFT or choices of RAFTs based on students’ reading,
writing or performance levels)
•Roles/Audience
– Well-known people or charters to lesser known
– Basic essential items (vocabulary, inventions, elements,
etc.) to more esoteric items
– Easier to understand point-of-view to more intangible
perspective
•Formats (while offering choices to students)
– Shorter to longer (in prep, process or presentation)
– More familiar to more unfamiliar formats
– Single step to multiple steps
September 2013
Krystal Coker
Differentiating a RAFT by Readiness
(continued)
• Topics
– Easier to interpret to more sophisticated
– Concrete & literal to more abstract response
– More structured to more open-ended
– Small leap in insight & application to larger leap
September 2013
Krystal Coker
Analyzing a RAFT Lesson
• What are the learning goals for this lesson
and are they built into every choice?
• How is this RAFT being differentiated?
– Does it appeal to different learning styles?
– Is there a range of difficulty in the:
• Roles?
• Formats?
• Readiness levels?
– Do the roles, formats or topics appeal to a variety
of interests?
September 2013
Krystal Coker
RAFT Planning
• Know (facts, vocab) – think about the
know when planning the role or
audience
• Understand (statement) – think about
the understand when writing the topics
• Do (verb) – this might be the guide for
the format
September 2013
Krystal Coker
Ways to use RAFTs
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Assess prior knowledge before a unit
Centers/Stations
Exit Ticket
Warm Up/Bell Ringer
Formative assessment
Alternative to a traditional assignment
And the list goes on…
September 2013
Krystal Coker
RAFTs and Word Walls
You have these lovely word walls…now what?
Integrate word walls into your RAFTs!
This will provide scaffolding within the differentiation by
giving the students a word bank to use when they are
writing.
…or require students to use a certain number of words
from the word wall into their RAFT assignment.
September 2013
Krystal Coker