Today I would like to talk about something that is a writing strategy and also a great differentiation strategy. This strategy, RAFT has been around for years and if you have been teaching for a while you probably know it. But if you are new, I have found it's a great way to do organize a project! Or maybe you just want a refresher! I actually had forgotten about it, but when looking for something totally different, I came across a lesson I did several years ago and thought the format/strategy would work perfect for this years end of the year final project!
I like to try to give credit to what I write about, however this one was hard because I am not sure exactly where it came from. I believe I first heard about it at training on differentiation and it came from Carol Tomlinson who is known for her work on differentiation.
RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, Topic. I like that it includes the audience piece because to me that is what makes a project authentic. The lesson I found was a project in biology where students needed to show that they understand the structure of DNA.
To showcase the strategy I will show you the example of what I am currently having students work on in my Earth Science class. I am using this example because it is fresh on my mind, but also because I think I have a solid rubric and way to assess that I would like to share:
I decided to do a final project because of the way this semester has gone. We have had so many disruptions due to weather and COVID so it has made it difficult to get through everything I wanted. I love the hydrosphere unit but was unable to get very far. So instead, I came up with a RAFT project where I think students will get to see quite a bit of what I would like them to have exposure to, and also they can tie it back/make connections to early topics in the year! I did one day of introducing why water is so important and we did an I see, I think, I wonder activity with pictures of the Colorado River Basin, showing different aspects of how it is drying up. Below are my project directions and the different ways to go about doing the project. The topic is the same for all options.
Directions: In this project you will be investigating water problems related to the Colorado River Basin.
Your project should do the following:
Highlight the problems
Impacts of the problems
Come up with solutions to problem
You will complete one of the following projects to showcase your learning!
Choice 1:
Role: Environmental Science Podcaster
Audience: People who care about the environment and listen to your podcast
Format: A podcast using anchor fm
Topic: Tell the story of the water problem on the Colorado River
Introduction explaining the problem
Details about the problem, who is affected?, who are all the players in the situation (Farmers, everyday people, etc.)
Sponsor: Come up with a sponsor related to the issue ex: something about saving water
Conclusion (what are some possible solutions, what is the outlook on the situation)
Choice 2:
Role: An artist working to promote awareness of environmental issues
Audience: People who go to art galleries
Format: A painting
Topic: Tell the story of the water problem on the Colorado River
A painting that shows a clear connection to the water problem on the Colorado River.
A detailed typed placard (label) with the following info:
details about the problem, who is affected?, who are all the players in the situation (Farmers, everyday people, etc.)
What are some possible solutions, what is the outlook on the situation?
To present, you will be standing by your painting to be able to talk about it and answer questions.
Choice 3:
Role: An earth science teacher giving a lecture.
Audience: Students in your high school earth science class
Format: A slideshow (with recorded presentation)
Topic: Tell the story of the water problem on Colorado River
8-10 slides that explain the water problem associated with the Colorado River. Including the following info:
Details about the problem, who is affected?, who are all the players in the situation (Farmers, everyday people, etc.)
What are some possible solutions, and what is the outlook on the situation?
At least one picture or diagram per slide (relevant to the information)
A voice over or recording of yourself presenting the information.
Choice 4:
Role: An environmental journalist
Audience: People who read magazines about the environment
Format: An article with pictures
Topic: Tell the story of the water problem on the Colorado River
2 page article that explains the water problem related to the Colorado River. Including the following info:
Details about the problem, who is affected?, who are all the players in the situation (Farmers, everyday people, etc.)
What are some possible solutions, and what is the outlook on the situation?
At least one picture or diagram per page (relevant to the information)
To present, you will stand in front of your article to discuss and talk about it.
A few notes about how to structure.
- It is important to make all the choices about the same amount of work/time.
- You can change the topic, depending on what you are doing and the end goal.
- Be intentional with the format...for example I chose all formats that I know my students are familiar with doing. We have a very specific podcast format that they did a project on earlier in the year. If you make the format something they have not experienced it could cause them to shut down or spend more time learning the format than the content.
- Also on that same note I was intentional about my slideshow option. If you say slideshow it is often the default option because students see it as easy. That is why I added the presentation component.
- I almost never have students present to the whole class. Instead I do gallery walk style presentations.
The way I convert this to a regular scale is that a 1-2 is a D or C, a 3-4 is a C or B and a 5-6 is a B or A. Students who get between a 4 and 6 are on target and meet the expectation. If a student meets a 7-8 they get an A or A+ if your school gives them out. They have shown connections to other material and outside of class knowledge. The last piece of the assessment is making sure you as the teacher understand the difference between the bolded words and can articulate that to students. For example: Outline would be just a list or statement about the topic but not much detail, describe would be bringing in some examples and description, discuss adds in complete sentences, full thoughts, and connections, discuss/evaluate would be bringing in outside knowledge and making connections to other content.
Hope you enjoyed hearing about this strategy and how I have used it/am using it in my classroom. If I get some good student examples, I'll post pictures in my next entry! Thanks for reading!
