Free R.A.F.T. Graphic Organizer

Hey hey!  So this week in first grade we are writing friendly letters.  As part of our school's training in the 6+1 Traits of Writing, we are trying to help our kids focus on the Voice trait.  One great tip that I learned from another teacher who came to visit our school is the R.A.F.T. method.  It stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic.  This is great to use when you are trying to help your students change their perspective and become more creative in their writing.

So I decided to make this cute little graphic organizer to help my students plan out their ideas.  That way, when they go to actually write their letter, they can refer back to this worksheet for help.  It is available at my TpT store for FREE!  Just click the picture below to get it!

Our format will be a friendly letter but it is up to my students to decide who they want to be when they write their letter and who it will be addressed to.  It will be Christmas themed, so students may choose to be a reindeer, an elf, a toy, or even themselves. The possibilities are endless and this really gives the kids a chance to think outside of the box!  The topic is Christmas but within that broad spectrum they can steer the letter in any direction that they want to! I am really excited to see what my kids come up with!  I will post some of their work later this week when we are done!