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7th Grade Integrated ScienceStandard IV, Objective 2

Title: Adaptation RAFT

Description: Students will make selections concerning the role, audience, and formatfor a writing assignment to answer the question “How can I survive in the arctic? Whatadaptations would I need?”

Time Needed: 45 minutes

Materials: paper pencil or computer 

Procedures:

1. Tell student that they are going to write a RAFT paper. RAFT stands for:

Role: Who (or what) you are.Audience: To whom are you writing?Format: What form will your writing take?Topic: What subject are you writing about?

2. Share an example with the students. You may wish to project or make an overheadof this one:

R = car in a junk yardA = teen who destroyed the car 

F = farewell letter T = take care of your car (scolding)

Dear Claude,I've been forced to sit in this junk yard for the past year. Every day I've had to

face the loss of more and more body parts until there is almost nothing left of me. Buttomorrow, my time is up; I'm scheduled to be compacted, so I have to write this letter now. It is hard for me to say this, but I think you need to know you are responsible!

I gave you the best years of my life, and how did you treat me? You refused tochange my oil on a regular basis. (I get cranky when I have a dirty crankcase!) Youalways fed me the cheapest fuel, never letting me have any fuel containing detergentsto help keep my parts clean. You constantly slammed on the brakes, wearing the treadsfrom my tires. You never checked my tire pressure. I had to work extra hard to movewith such low pressure in my tires. Do you know how much gas money you wasted over the years by driving on underinflated tires?

I tried so hard to do my best, but you did not lift a finger to help. Oh, no!Here it comes, the big crunch! I've reached the end of my road....CRUNCH!Goodbye,Your car 

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3. The following table will help students select their role, audience and format. Havethem circle a selection from each column.

4. Give students an idea how long their written work should be. Read the rubric out

loud to help guide their writing.

5. Have willing students read their work to their groups and share the best ones withthe class if time permits.

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Adaptation RAFT Name_____________________  

Introduction: What if an animal was suddenly taken from the environment it usuallylives in and was taken to a new and different one? This happened in the early days inUtah when some people shipped a whale from San Francisco in a train car full of 

seawater. They put the whale in the Great Salt Lake and it promptly died. Can youguess why? In this writing activity, you will become an animal that gets moved to a newlocation. We are going to assume that you live to tell about it. Be as realistic as youcan and describe ways you could survive that are possible. Animals that do not growfur cannot just start doing that. Animals change over time as survivors pass their traitson to their offspring.

Directions: Circle one from each column to write about:

Role Audience Format Topic

Ostrich Mother Nature Thank-you note

How can I survive in the

arctic? What adaptationswould I need?

Turtle Your Mom AdviceHow can I survive in the rainforest? What adaptationswould I need?

Cactus Scientist Complaint

Cat A relative

Your teacher 

Rubric3 2 1

Voice Sounds like the animal,says things it might.

Sometimes soundslike the animal.

Rarely sounds likethe animal.

Content 3 ways to survive aredescribed. 3adaptations present.

All are possible.

Less than 3 ways toadapt and survivelisted. Some not

possible.

Survival or adaptationmissing. Most arenot possible.

Organization Style is correct for thechosen format.

Style is partiallycorrect for thechosen format.

Style is not correct for the format.

Conventions Spelling and grammar mistakes do not detractfrom writing.

Some mistakesmade in spelling andgrammar aredistracting.

Many mistakes inspelling and grammar detract from writing.

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Your work:

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