(Gerald Vanderpool)

(http://leapintoknowledge.weebly.com/)
EDU-225
(3/6/2016)

Raft Task Card

This RAFT Card is designed for __8__ grade level.
ROLE (student)

AUDIENCE
Committee

FORMAT
Journal

TOPIC
How did comets

judge

Oral presentation

shape the Earth?

Why we should

Row 1
Scientist
lawyer

protect

Row 2
endangered
Radio station

Podcast or audio

species?
How are black

listeners

blog

holes created?

Row 3
DJ for radio station

RAFT Row 1
Objective: You will be able to explain how comets impacted the Earth and what they did.
Student Role: Scientist
Audience:

Committee

Format:

Journal

Topic: How did comets shape the Earth?

Directions:

1. Visit and read www.livescience.com/10229-earth-owe-life-comets.html to learn more

about comets.
2. Create a rough draft of what you want to write.
3. Create a final draft on the topic.
Resources:
www.livescience.com/10229-earth-owe-life-comets.html
www.space.com/53-comets-formation-discovery-and...
earthsky.org/space/did-comets-bring-water-to-earth

Assessment: Prepare a 500 to 750 word journal describing what happens or happened
when a comet hits the Earth.
You will receive 50 points for the rough draft and the final draft.

RAFT Row 2
Objective: Research your favorite endangered species online and convince the judge
(teacher) that this species needs to be protected and why.
Student Role: lawyer
Audience:

judge

Format:

oral presentation

Topic: Why should we protect endangered species?

Directions:
1. Visit https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?
direction=desc&sort=extinction_status and chose an endangered species.
2. Research other approved sites to get information on your species.
3. Write an oral report to explain the importance of this species and be prepared to
answer questions from the judge.
Resources:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

Assessment: Be knowledgeable about your species so you can answer questions. Write a
750 word report that you will use in an oral presentation. You will receive 25 points for the
endangered species. You will receive 50 points each for the oral presentation and the
written report.

RAFT Row 3
Objective: Research how black holes are formed.
Student Role: DJ
Audience:

Radio station audience

Format:

podcast or audio blog

Topic: How are black holes formed?

Directions: 1. Visit http://www.universetoday.com/33454/how-do-black-holes-form/ to learn

about black holes.
2. Create a storyboard line or worksheet to help you with your script.
3. Create your script and make it easy for you to read.
4. Practice script until you are comfortable speaking it out loud.
5. Create a Voki at Voki.com. Build a suitable avatar for this project.
6. Read and record your script as the Vokis voice.
Resources: Additional resources to use:

http://space.about.com/od/blackholes/a/Information-About-Black-Holes.htm
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes/
http://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html

Assessment: You will receive 10 points for each part: storyboard, script, Voki, and
recording.

Section Four: Differentiating Instruction through Technology

Technology is everywhere so why shouldnt teachers use it in the classroom to help their
students? Technology can help those students that are having problems keeping up with the rest
of the class. After all not everybody learns the same way or at the same speed. While there are

hundreds of different sources of technology here are a few that might be of interest:
http://wordle.net, http://mrsp.com, and http://iknowthat.com.
http://wordle.net:
Wordle allows for the creative side of the students to grow and also helps those to learn the
most common words used in their text by making those words bigger. This display draws the
attention of the students more and will help them to remember them later. (Feinberg, 2014)

ISTE Standards
This source complies with ISTE Standards 1.b. (Create original works as a means of
personal or group expression), 3.b. (Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesis, and ethically
use information), and 4.c. (collect and analyze data to identify solutions and make informed
decisions) (ISTE, 2016)
http://mrsp.com:
Since not all students are at the same grade level mrsp is a helpful tool. mrsp.com is
designed for younger students, but can also be used to help foreign students learn our language.
It comes with games and visual words so that students learn the look of the word along with the
sound.
Mrsp also has an online learning lesson "The Magic World of Reading, Writing and
Storytelling". I take children on a journey to the most wonderful and interesting places
imaginable through this online lesson! And in the process, I help kids learn how to exercise their
imagination while building effective listening and writing skills. (mrsp, 2015)
Teachers need to look at the most simple thing, not all students are at grade level when it
comes to reading and this program can help the students excel in this important trait. If a student

has problems reading they will struggle throughout their school career and into their jobs.
Reading is very important to all.
ISTE Standards
This program meets ISTE Standards 1.d. (Identify trends and forecast possibilities), 2.c.
(Develop cultural understanding and global awareness), and 3.d. (Process data and report
results) (ISTE, 2016)
http://iknowthat.com:
Children learn best in a social environment, iknowthat.com is built on the idea of socially
enforced learning. Features for saving and showing scores, documents, and other project
artifacts encourage sharing and provide an easy way for family members and friends to become
an active participant in a childs learning process. The user generated content areas and
multiplayer virtual world further expands the social aspects of multimedia learning for children
on the Internet through more dynamic and real-time interactions. (iknowthat, 2011)
This source can be used as a good refresher for older students to make sure that they are ready
for their current class and what will be required from them. Most students are behind in one
form or another and this will help them advance.
ISTE Standards
This program meets every ISTE Standard. It covers a vast amount of information in all
categories and is very essential. (ISTE, 2016)
Pros and Cons (150-250 words)
There are pros and cons for everything out there in this world. The biggest pro that
comes from technology is all of the information available to the teachers and students. This
information is up to date and easy to access. The biggest con is that not all of the information on

the Internet is true. Care needs to be taken to make sure that teachers and students are using safe,
correct resources and nothing improper.
Concluding Paragraph (4-6 sentences)
Technology is the biggest tool that teachers can use to help their students. It greatly
expands what teachers can do and what they can teach. Technology also can help with keeping
the students up to date on information instead of using out dated books that can cause diversity
and stereotyping. Technology should be kept around as a tool to help teachers to give the most to
their students. Students also get an advantage with using technology in todays world.
Everything is run by technology and when students move on to their careers, they will have the
advantage of knowing how technology works and how to use it.

References
Feinberg, 2014 Retrieved on 3/5/2016 from http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/8484using-technology-to-differentiate-instruction
Iknowthat, 2011 Retrieved on 3/5/2016 from http://www.iknowthat.com/com/SPage?SWF=
%2FHomePageOpen%2FMicrotext%2FAboutUs
ISTE, 2016 Retrieved on 3/5/2016 from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standardsfor-students
Mrsp, 2015 Retrieved on 3/5/2016 from http://mrsp.com/Teachers.aspx