The document presents the RAFT writing strategy, which encourages students to explore different perspectives in their writing by defining roles, audiences, formats, and topics. It emphasizes teaching key writing skills like organization and creative thinking through modeled examples and collaborative practice. Dr. Pramila Kudva, the author, is an experienced educator currently serving as a principal in Mumbai.

1. RAFT
Dr. Pramila Kudva

2. Why use RAFT?
• It includes writing from different viewpoints.
• It helps students learn important writing
skills such as audience, main idea, and
organization.
• It teaches students to think creatively about
writing
• It gives students a fresh way to think about
approaching their writing. It occupies a nice
middle ground between standard, dry essays
and free-for-all creative writing.

3. How to use RAFT
Describe role, audience, format, and topic using simple
examples
Describe
Model how to write responses to the prompts and discuss
the key elements as a class. Teachers should keep this as
simple and concise.
Model
Have students practice responding to prompts individually,
or in small groups. At first, it may be best to have all
students react to the same prompt so the class can learn
from varied responses.
Practice

4. After
reading
During reading
Before reading
Individually
In small groups /
Whole group
When to use RAFT

5. Example of RAFT
Role = Car in a junkyard.
Audience = Teenager who destroyed
the car.
Format = farewell letter.
Topic = take care of your car
(scolding).

6. Dear John, I've been forced to sit in this junkyard for the past year. Every day I am getting
more and more debilitated. There are a few boys who come abuse me. They hit me, kick
me and remove my body parts to sell. My batteries, tires and some of the machine parts
are all gone. Soon, there will be nothing left of me. But tomorrow, I believe my time is up;
so I have to write this letter now. It is hard for me to say this, but I think you need to know
you are a real jerk! I gave you the best years of my life, and how did you treat me? You
refused to change my oil on a regular basis. You didn't bother to keep me clean. You
constantly slammed on the brakes, wearing the treads from my tires. You never checked
my tire pressure. I had to work extra hard to move with such low pressure in my tires. Do
you know how much gas money you wasted over the years by driving on underinflated
tires? Now that my time is up, I write this to you so that at least henceforth you will take
good care of your car.

7. R = Dad of a teenager.
A = teenager who destroyed the car.
F = letter of admonition.
T = Spend your allowance carefully
(scolding).
Variations of the same example

8. Role Development Chart
Think deeply about who you are
in this role and what you want to
include from your reading to
make your writing credible. What
perspective will you have on the
issue you think is most
important?
Personality
Who am I and
what are some
aspects of my
character?
Attitudes
What are my
feelings, beliefs,
ideas, and
concerns?
Information
What do I
know that I
should share
in my writing?

9. Explain to the students the
process
Display an example and
discuss the key elements
Demonstrate, model, and
"think aloud"
Assign students to small,
heterogeneous groups of four or
five or pairs and have them "put
their heads together"
Circulate among the groups to
provide assistance as needed.
Then have the groups share
their completed assignments
with the class.
Step 1
Explain
Step 2
Display
Step 3
Demonstrate
Step 4
Assign groups
Step 5
Share

10. RAFT options
list

11. Role Audience format Topic
Frog Tadpole Letter Life cycle
Scientist Charles Darwin Letter Refute a point in evolution theory
mommy & daddy bats baby bats instructions how to drink nectar from a saguaro
cactus
lost student in the desert classmates travel guide survival tips
kangaroo rat sun complaint sun out too long
Repeating Decimal Set of Rational Numbers Petition Prove you belong to this set
Lungs Cigarette company Public interest
complaint
Effects of smoking
Great Wall of China Self Diary Invaders I have seen and stopped
Acute triangle Obtuse triangle Letter Explain differences of triangles
Zero Whole numbers Campaign speech Importance of the number 0

12. Dr. Pramila Kudva is a PhD
in Education from Mumbai
University. She has over
three decades of experience
as a teacher, teacher
educator. Currently she is
working as a principal of an
ICSE school in Mumbai.
She has several academic
publications to her credit.