RAFT Writing

1. RAFT Writing Culinary Arts Angela Boland

2. PSA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2011 CONTACT: Angela Boland, Smithson Valley High School (555) 321 – 1234 angela.boland@ttu.edu Writing As a Process Across the Curriculum YOU will Fall in Love with Writing! DO YOU DREAD THOSE BORING, LENGTHY ESSAYS AND REPORTS THAT YOUR TEACHERS ASSIGN? I DID TOO! NO MORE COPYING FROM A BOOK AND SPENDING HOURS WRITING A PAPER YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT. GET READY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH WRITING! YES, IT IS POSSIBLE! HOW ABOUT WRITING FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE FOR A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE, PERHAPS AS A FOOD WRITER INTRODUCING A NEW RESTAURANT? IF YOU ARE READY TO TRY OUT A NEW STYLE OF WRITING THAT IS INTERESTING AND FUN PLEASE VISIT WWW.READWRITETHINK.ORG AND SEARCH RAFT WRITING OR CALL (555) 321 – 1234. ###

3. What is RAFT Writing? • RAFT describes 4 elements of writing • Role of the writer • Audience for the writing • Format the writing will take • Topic covered in the writing Allen, J. (2004). Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse

4. Purpose of RAFT Writing • “It provides a method for students to think critically and creatively about content they have studied…” • “To make connections to events, people, and places from their reading…” • “To infer and predict from the text clues…” • “To synthesize all their newly discovered information into an imaginative piece of writing” Allen, J. (2004). Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse

5. Raft Writing as an Assessment • Text – Star Chefs on the Road: 10 Culinary Masters Share Stories and Recipes, 2004, Food & Wine • Biography of famous chefs, stories of their travels, and travel inspired recipes • Book contains approximately 4 pages of text, 3-4 pages of photos, 2-4 pages of recipes, and a short expert of travel tips; per featured chef • Book is edited by Food & Wine Magazine and text reads as a feature story • Easy, interesting read that will facilitate a beginning assessment of current knowledge and interest in culinary arts, creativity, and reading comprehension and writing ability

6. Practical Application • In the classroom I would use multiple texts that present famous chefs in various formats. • More options increase students interest • Unlikely to have enough copies of a single book • This can be remedied by making photo copies • Many FCS teachers only have one copy of the main textbook and are forced to photocopy each chapter for their students. • More expansive options for RAFT using multiple texts • Another option would be to research in advance Web sites that the students could use to read and gather information for their famous chef RAFT

7. ApplicationChoose Your Favorite Chef Bobby Flay EmerilLagasse Rachel Ray Wolfgang Puck

8. BrainstormChoose your RAFT!

9. Brainstorming in the ClassroomStudent Centered & Teacher Guided

10. Brainstorming: Star Chefs Text

11. Assessment • Have students present their RAFTS • Students learn more about famous chefs • Students are motivated to be creative and do their best • Learn about presentation skills and reading confidence • Use a Rubric • Six Trait Rubric for Writing Adapted from Vicki Spandel, Creating Writers – provided by Dr. Lesley • RAFT Rubric Adapted from Office of Literacy - included in this presentation • Beyond the grade – learning about your students • Assessing their current knowledge, interest, and ability in order to match learning strategies appropriate for each student and/or the class as a whole

13. Reflection • Highly Engaging Activity • Encourages Students to “Think Outside the Box” • Meaningful Exploration of the Information/Text • Exposed to Writing in Various Formats • Great Assessment Tool for Teachers

14. Complete Reference List • Allen, J. (2004). Tools for Teaching Content Literacy. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse. • Food & Wine. (2004). Star Chefs on the Road: 10 Culinary Masters Share Stories and Recipes. New York: Assouline. • Other text option for Famous Chef RAFT • Child, J. (1995). In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs. New York: Random House.