R.A.F.T.

R.A.F.T. is an excellent strategy to increase students’ comprehension of what they read because it literally gets them involved. By actually becoming characters, they can gain deep perspectives, insights, and even empathy for different characters. Not only does this strategy enhance the reading experience by connecting it to writing, but it also allows students to practice different forms of writing, forms that they might have few opportunities to try their hands at in school. R.A.F.T. is an acronym that stands for:
 * R.A.F.T. **  (A Writing Strategy)

“Role”—Who are you? What’s your character? “Audience”—Who are you writing for? Who is the intended reader? “Format”—What form or style of writing will this be? What is its type or structure? “Topic”—What are you writing about? What is the purpose of this piece?

This strategy also allows for ownership in English class because the student is making several creative decisions in every R.A.F.T. piece of writing. Sharing the finished works can be a fun activity, as well as very informative since most students will have taken different approaches. Sharing will also be a great review of the subject since so many perspectives will be represented.

I would love to have students compose R.A.F.T. pieces in my English classroom as often as possible-- hopefully, twice per month. If we are studying Transcendentalism, some might choose to take on the persona of Thoreau, writing a journal entry by Walden Pond, or Louisa May Alcott, writing about her experiences in a Civil War soldier’s hospital in a letter home. While reading Walla Cather’s __My Antonia__, some students may want to write diary entries about life on the frontier, and while reading Twain’s __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__, some may choose to write up a wanted ad for the missing Huck and Jim. With this strategy, the possibilities for combining content and creativity really are endless.

Beuhl, D. (2008). //Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning// (3rd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.