Students in Mrs. Heather Diss's 9th grade English class are currently studying The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. The novel explores what happens to social order and childhood innocence when a group of British school boys is stranded without adults on a deserted island. Mrs. Diss is using the novel to teach characterization and symbolism and to explore the novel's central ideas through class discussion and writing.
Most recently, Mrs. Diss's students had the opportunity to explore the characterization of the novel's central characters through a RAFT writing assignment. A RAFT assignment allows students to chose thier Role, Audience, Format, and Topic and use what they have read to create a new piece of writing that illustrates their understanding.
Mrs. Diss's students could choose the following:
| Role | Audience | Format | Topic |
| Piggy | Family back home | Poem or Song | The Beast |
| Ralph | Jack | Letter | What happened to the boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark |
| Jack | The rest of the world | Speech | Homesickness |
| Percival | Self | Newspaper Article | Who should be the leader on the island |
Visit Oracle Charter School's Student Work page to read some examples of student responses to this assignment!
