RAFTS Thursday, 22 January 2009 Noblesville High School Mary B. Nicolini Penn High School

Writing can... help students sort and select nudge students to think critically make (some) order out of chaos make thinking visible

“ W riting across the curriculum isn’t just a method of getting students to write who are afraid of writing. It is also a method of getting students to learn what they were afraid of learning.” William Zinsser, Writing to Learn

What is a RAFTS? Role Audience Format Topic Strong Verb

Role: WHO is speaking? What do I know about this role? What special language might a person in this role use?

Audience: WHO is listening? What do I know about this audience? What information does this audience need to know? What voice would be most appropriate for this audience?

Format: HOW is the speaker delivering the message? What do I know about this format? How are ideas typically organized for this format (compare/contrast, chronological order, cause and effect, deductive logic, point-by-point analysis)?

Formats advertisements brochures case studies declarations editorials fact sheets interviews (real/imaginary) letters memos news stories: radio/paper/tv poems psychiatrists’ notes sermons slide show scripts telegrams war communiqués

Topic: WHAT is the message? What do I know about this topic? What details should I provide for my audience? What questions should I answer for my audience? Where can I go to find more information if I need it (encyclopedias, periodicals, newspapers, Internet, an expert in the field, library, reference manuals)?

Strong Verb: WHAT is the purpose of the message? What purpose for my writing does this verb suggest? To inform or explain? To persuade? To describe? To tell a story? To create a new way of seeing things? What key words will make my purpose clear?

Strong Verb communicate contest diagnose explain inform relate announce describe identify persuade compare analyze cajole clarify critique define design visualize summarize defend

Biology “Mystery Animal” Role: Safari tour guide Audience: tourists Format: script Topic: animals they will see on the tour Strong Verb: describe You are a Safari tour guide for a large tourism company in Africa. Write your script for what you will say to tourists who pay big bucks to take your tour. Describe what animals they will see, but do NOT actually name the animal. Instead, be very descriptive as far as the animal's size, coloring, habitat, diet, reproduction, and other traits we have been studying in biology.

RJourneyman electrician AApprentice electricians FSafety brochure TCorrect wiring procedures for a 110v 3- way switch SEducate You are a Journeyman Electrician that instructs newly hired Apprentices. You are to design a safety brochure educating the apprentices on the proper techniques on wiring a 110v 3-way switch.

Role: Artillery commander Audience: Combat troops Format: Battle plan Topic: Parabolic flight of a projectile Strong Verb: Describe As an artillery commander you need to describe to your troops how to use a given quadratic equation of parabolic flight to create a battle plan which will determine how changes in the initial velocity of the projectile will determine the maximum height of the projectile so it can clear the wall of a fort you are trying to shell.

role: filmmaker audience: community format: narration for documentary topic: a local philanthropist strong verb: highlight You are a filmmaker creating a documentary about a local philanthropist who has done a lot of good for your community. Write the narration for the opening of the documentary that will highlight her many civic-minded contributions.

role: race car driver audience: readers of Racing Enthusiast’s Monthly format: article topic: car’s frictionless body style helped strong verb: expressing As a race car driver who has just won your first race, write an article for readers of Racing Enthusiast’s Monthly expressing how your car’s frictionless body style helped lead you to victory. Be sure to thank your car designer and your sponsors for their support in making it all possible.

Why a RAFTS? Students need to write it all down to make sense of what they find out through questioning and research. We write to make sense of our world; we write to understand how things work; we write to figure things out. RAFTS prompts help students not only become better writers but to become better thinkers.

more Why a RAFTS? RAFTS go hand-in-hand with the 6 traits of writing. Role and Audience help students decide on the voice and word choice. Format helps students with organization. Topic helps students zero in on the ideas. Strong Verbs direct students to the writing purpose and help them to write clearly using all the traits.

still more Why a RAFTS? written from a viewpoint different from the student’s, to another audience rather than the teacher, and in a form different from the ordinary theme require students to use creative thinking as they connect imagination to newly learned information give students a fresh way to think about their writing can be adjusted for skill level and rigor (great for differentiation) are difficult to plagiarize

How to build a RAFTS Decide on a concept/idea, a piece of enduring knowledge, a unit: something you know you’ll teach this year. Determine role, audience, format, and strong verb to go with topic. Partner up with a colleague who teaches the same or similar course, proceed to Writing Center, log in and follow directions at om/.

Goal for today Write TWO RAFTS with a partner (or alone) See specific instructions on handout or at aces.com/