Let Students Pick Elements of their Assignments with a RAFT Activity
A daunting part of differentiation is choosing what each student should do - so don't. Let them choose!
With a RAFT activity, you design an assignment to be as broad or narrow as you like. You can pre-determine aspects of the assignment while still giving students an element of choice in the topic, format, or point of view.
With this choice, the student is personally differentiating the assignment based on his or her interests and readiness. All you have to do is present the options.
The Framework - What is a RAFT?
RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. The general framework of a RAFT assignment is that you present a choice for each part, the student makes a choice, and the student creates a product.
The 'Role' piece defines the point of view the student will take in creating the assignment. This may be the self for a personal reflection. It may be a specific person or social group in history. The role determines how a student will react to the chosen topic.
The 'Audience' part defines the person or persons that the product is created for. A letter might have as an audience a friend, family member, or congressman. A poem might have as an audience a friend or the general public. A speech might have as an audience a small assembly, a group of political partisans, or a national audience. The 'Audience' will determine how the student responds to the topic and what the student says about the topic.
The 'Format' part defines what product the student creates. This could be a letter, a poem, an essay, a song, a script, or any other product that you can imagine. This is a great place to differentiate - allow the student to use his or her skills to create a product that can address the issue at hand.
The 'Topic' part defines the topic of the assignment. You might give students one topic if you want them to focus on that given topic. You might also given them half a dozen topics if you want to differentiate according to student interest.
How Do I Write It Up?
Once the students know what a RAFT is, it is pretty simple to assemble. You create a simple table - with Role, Audience, Format, and Topic at the top - including all of the options.
Check out this example assignment sheet to see what it might look like.
What to Vary, and What to Keep the Same?
You can differentiate an assignment along many things - so it is important that you choose what to differentiate in the beginning.
If you want to differentiate according to student interest, you should vary the topic of the assignment. You may also want to vary the audience and role aspects, so that the students can choose a point of view that he or she can identify with.
If you want to differentiate according to readiness, allow the student to pick from a number of formats. If a student isn't ready to create a well-written essay, he or she can choose to write a song or create a drawing. This is a great way to allow students to express content knowledge without being held back by skills.
Similarly, you can use the format to differentiate according to learning styles. One student may like music. Another may like visuals. Yet another may like writing essays. By giving each student the option, you can get a variety of assignments on the given topic - and each student will pick the one that he is most apt to do well with.
Why Do I Want to Use It?
Differentiation can be terribly difficult, or it can be terribly simple.
With a RAFT activity, you create a matrix of options and let the students do the work. Choose what the students need to do - for example, only give one possible topic. Then create a variety of options for the other areas. Students will make the appropriate choices and differentiate the assignment themselves - without you losing any sleep.
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