Writing Activity 1: Nightjohn RAFT

Our first significant formal writing assignment of this school year is the RAFT friendly letter that all students are currently revising. Final drafts, word processed, are due the week following the long Columbus Day weekend. The crafting of these letters have required students to use information acquired from a variety of sources, including the novel Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen, the film Dear America: A Picture of Freedom, content lcovered in Social Studies class, as well as, a number of non-fiction reading selections. In many ways, this activity is a culmination of the work we have done with the first Social Justice Unit of the year.

This first formal writing activity has also provided students with a review of the writing process from pre-writing to publishing. Following a class brainstorming session using a pair of t-charts, initial drafting and in-class peer-reviews, students are now making revisions in their letters, with an eye toward publishing.

Read Up and Write On!