How to Use the RAFT Strategy in the Classroom to Develop Writing and Reading Skills?

RAFT is an advanced strategy used to improve the content delivery to your audiences. It imparts the basic guidance that enables students to understand the key pointers of how to initiate writing an article, the connection they need to build with the audience they will address and download multiple formats and instructions to be followed. Using the RAFT strategy, VAH experts help students to write creatively, consider a topic from a different perspective, and practice writing for different audiences.

What is  RAFT strategy?

The R.A.F.T. stands for:

Role of the writer 

• It helps the writer decide on the point of view and voice.

The audience addressed 

• It reminds the writer that he must communicate ideas to someone else.
• It helps the writer determine content and style. 

Format of the material 

• It helps the writer organize ideas and employ format conventions, such as letters, interviews, and story problems. 

Topic of writing 

• It enables the writer to concentrate on the main ideas. 

RAFT Procedure:

• Think about the concepts or processes you want students to learn as they read a selected passage. Then, consider how writing excitingly can increase students' understanding of the subject.
• Brainstorm possible roles students can assume in their writing.
• Decide who the audience will be and the format of the writing.
• After students have completed reading, identify the Role, Audience, Format and Theme (RAFT) for writing. Allocate the same role for all scholars or let them select from several different roles.

Reasons to use RAFT techniques.

Writing tutors use the RAFT method with students of all ages.

It has many advantages, including:

• Clarifying the student's writing role
• Looking at how a topic can be approached from different perspectives
• Determining the appropriate audience for the content
• Testing or exploring different styles of writing to best fit the writing intent
• Communicating the author's thoughts or beliefs in a meaningful way so that the reader can empathize
• Giving a strong voice so that the writing has the desired effect
• Presenting a stylistic and creative masterpiece

How to use RAFT?

• Demonstrate a complete RAFT example overhead.
• Describe each simple using examples: role, audience, format, and subject. (It may be beneficial to write the elements on a chart paper or bulletin board for future reference).
• Model how to write the responses to the prompts and discuss the critical elements as a class. Teachers should keep it as concise and straightforward as possible for younger students.
• Practice responding to prompts from students separately or in small groups. At first, it may be suitable to have all students respond to the same prompt so that the class can learn from the different responses.

Using RAFT in the classroom

It helps to have a plethora of RAFT acronyms and meanings as you discuss these concepts. After each component is clearly explained, students can understand how to use them if presented with colourful and different RAFT examples and presented in writing. Choose some writing samples that the class will find interesting, helping them relate to the authors and their audience.

Perhaps there is a short story in a current textbook or an article from a local news item that uses RAFT methods. Show students through screen displays or a printed handout how writing can be broken down into role, audience, format, and subject sections. Do this for at least a few different pieces so that they understand the concept clearly.

Encourage students to present their examples of stories or writing that the class knows, and ask them how they would assign each RAFT part. The more examples they discuss, the more comfortable students will be at approaching their specific RAFT assignments.

The Purpose of using RAFT strategy

The main objective of RAFT Writing is to provide students with an insight into attempting their college assignments. Letters, essays, poems and even email correspondence can also use these techniques. It's an enjoyable way to approach a project. It provides the structure for people with creative licenses to use their imagination while delivering the information. It combats the lengthy paragraphs of a formal essay and the input required by the writer to introduce the topic and connect the reader.