| Social Studies | Close this window |
 What's this? |
Writing Based on a Perspective
This support material is incorporated into critical challenges at grades 7 and 8, however, it can be adapted for use at all grade levels.
The following documents can be adapted and re-saved for your needs.
R-A-F-T-S Framework 
This chart helps students write a profile of an event, based on a particular perspective. The framework identifies five variables, which may be altered for any piece of fiction or nonfiction:
R – |
a role from which to do the writing; e.g., themselves, an inanimate object, a historical figure |
|
A – |
an audience for whom the writing is intended; e.g., themselves, one's pets or peers, the general public |
|
F – |
a format in which to write; e.g., e-mail, formal essay, post card |
|
T – |
a topic about which to write, related to the selected or assigned role and audience |
|
S – |
a strong verb that sets the tone or overall purpose of the writing, e.g., to plead, to persuade, to complain, and guide students in selecting vocabulary to use in their writing. |
When using R-A-F-T-S to create a historical account (e.g., diary, journal), caution students about assessing an historical event from a modern day perspective. Suggest that people in the past acted and behaved as they did in the spirit of the times; therefore, judgments should be made on available evidence about the values and beliefs of the times rather than trying to project motives, values and beliefs of the characters.
The quality of the account will depend on the information students have available to them. Encourage students to pay attention to detail when researching assigned characters and events, to check that their information is accurate and, where possible, to corroborate with other evidence.
Assessing the Interpretation
An assessment rubric is available for this strategy.
Credits
Adapted from Critical Challenges Across the Curriculum series. Permission granted by The Critical Thinking Consortium for use by Alberta teachers.
