Explain to students that they are to use the words they have just discussed as clues to understanding the contents of an as yet unseen document from the Chinese Benevolent Association collection. Indicate that they are to use five questions known as R.A.F.T.S. (Role, Audience, Format, Topic, Strong Verb) to guide their investigation. Distribute copies of the attached worksheet Reading historical documents and explain each of the five components of this analytic framework:
R – the role from which the author created the document (e.g., a government official, a concerned citizen, a business leader, someone with much or little power)
A – the audience for whom the writing was intended; (e.g., themselves, one’s peers, the general public, a social superior, a government official)
F – the format in which the document was written; (e.g., official letter, formal essay, post card, diary)
T – the topic about which the document is written (e.g., a recent event, problems in the community, plans for the future)
S – a strong verb that best captures the tone or overall purpose of the document, (e.g., plead, persuade, complain, inform).
