R.A.F.T. TECHNIQUE

R: artist

A: Sir Shackleton

F: Letter

T: Personal Interest in Expedition

Dear Sir, Shackleton,

    I am requesting consideration for the artist position on your crew for the Endurance Expedition you are planning.

    While I understand that you are requesting men for this expedition. I wonder if there may be any reconsideration on the matter. You see sir... I am highly qualified, as I have received my training from the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts, one of few women to do so since the inception of the institution in 1768. After my time at the academy I have illustrated for smaller news publications outside of London.

    I am of able body and mind, I will be an asset to your crew, I can assure you sir. I am willing to work as a member of your crew to participate as an artist in this venture.

    While I know that having a woman on your crew is not conventional or usually permitted, I hope that you do consider me for the position. I promise to document your great findings on this new adventure to the Antarctic.

Cordially,

Mary Sinclair

Reflection:

Above is my response to the invitation of Sir Shackleton invitation. This strategy is really interesting because it allows student to understand the WHY?  of writing. This strategy also allows the investigation of the reading itself. 

In this prompt we had to understand what was being asked and the context of the passage, before we being to write. This strategy could be adapted for the art education context if the prompt allows for a creative response. The F. of the R.A.F.T. is format. After understanding the context of the prompt I was able to determine that the best format in this scenario would be to write a letter in return. 

As an educator, if I am thinking about this writing strategy I could apply in a way that allows for either a creative response (brochure, pamphlet, poster, cartoon, etc.) or a directed response to a creative prompt. The strategy can help students to find key information, the WHY? of what they are reading, what they can easily understand as an audience, etc. This strategy also allows for variety of response, in terms of perspective, format, and topic, depending on the Role, Format, and Topic that students choose, which will in turn allow for more discussion about a diverse set of information in the classroom.