Annotating Text: A Powerful Reading Tool
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This document discusses ways for students to actively engage with texts as readers. It introduces several strategies for annotation, including marking text with symbols to note characters, settings, unfamiliar words and important information. Students are encouraged to write comments in margins to summarize, make predictions, form opinions and ask questions. The purpose of annotation is to help readers think metacognitively about what they are reading in order to better understand and analyze texts. Examples of annotating a short story are provided to demonstrate the process.
Annotating Text: A Powerful Reading Tool
- 1. Pamela M. Santerre University of New England EDU742 November 6, 2011
- 3. Getting Started Last night, you were asked to read “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell & write a short written response. There are different ways good readers respond to a text Activity Reread your response and choose one sentence to share with the class. What category of response would you and your classmate’s response fit into?
- 4. Ways Good Readers Respond to a Text Make Connections Ask Questions Make Predictions Draw Conclusions using Evidence State Opinions Analyze the way the author writes Reflect on the Content Reflect on the Reading Process
- 5. Activity Create a poster of the ways good readers respond to a text. This poster should be on computer paper, so that you can keep in your Language Arts binder to refer to as you read. To Self To world Ask events Questions Make Make Connections Predictions To other texts Analyze the (books, TV shows, songs, writing style movies, artwork, etc.)
- 7. Good readers pay attention to their thoughts while they’re reading Scientists call this being “metacognitive,” which means “thinking about our thoughts.” While reading ,if we pay attention to ◦ questions we have ◦ things we find strange or confusing ◦ things we connect with ◦ things we like we will be able to understand the story and better understand how and why we get confused
- 8. Annotation Strategy that readers use to be metacognitive. Annotation means writing down your thoughts of what you’re reading as you read Short comments in the margins of the book, not long paragraphs Good readers annotate to: Identify important information Record connections Ask questions Interpret ideas
- 9. Miss Santerre being metacognitive while reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone I predict that Harry I wonder if Ron Potter will catch has a crush on the snitch and win Hermione. Does the Quidditch Hermione like him game for back? Gryffindor Professor Snape doesn’t have many friends because he never sits with the other teachers in the Great Hall during dinner
- 10. Annotating Text Bookmark Before Reading Examine the front and back covers (books) Read the title and subtitles Examine the illustrations Examine the print (bold, italics, etc) Examine the way the text is set up (book, short story, diary, dialogue, article, etc) During Reading Mark in the text Write in the margins Summarize Characters Make predictions When (setting) Formulate opinions Where (setting) Make connections Unfamiliar Words ? Ask questions Analyze the way the author writes Important Information Write reflections/reactions/comments Look for patterns/repetitions After Reading Reread annotations—draw conclusions Reread introduction and conclusion—try to figure out something new Examine patterns/repetitions—determine possible meanings Determine what the title might mean Adapted from Porter-O’Donnell (2004)
- 11. Practice “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson While I read the first page of the story aloud, follow along and use the symbols on the bookmark to mark information.
- 12. Annotating Text Bookmark Before Reading Examine the front and back covers (books) Read the title and subtitles Examine the illustrations Examine the print (bold, italics, etc) Examine the way the text is set up (book, short story, diary, dialogue, article, etc) During Reading Mark in the text Write in the margins Summarize Characters Make predictions When (setting) Formulate opinions Where (setting) Make connections Unfamiliar Words ? Ask questions Analyze the way the author writes Important quotations or passages Write reflections/reactions/comments Important Information Look for patterns/repetitions After Reading Reread annotations—draw conclusions Reread introduction and conclusion—try to figure out something new Examine patterns/repetitions—determine possible meanings Determine what the title might mean Adapted from Porter-O’Donnell (2004)
- 13. Take a few moments to add marks you may have missed. ◦ Who would like to share what they marked? ◦ Did anyone make any comments in the margins? Go back and make at least one comment in the margins.
- 14. What if I can’t write in the book? You should NOT write in a book borrowed from the school, library, or a friend. But… You can make your marks and write your thoughts on sticky notes, and then stick it on the correct page!
- 15. No matter what type of annotation you use, remember… You are being metacognitive; you are thinking about your thoughts By keeping track of your thoughts while you read, you will have a clearer picture in your mind of what is happening in the story and who the characters are. Because annotating slows your reading down, you will discover and uncover ideas you would not have discovered otherwise. However, the time it takes to read a piece once and annotate is less than the time it takes to reread several times.
- 17. Resources Daniels, H., & Zemelman, S. (2004). Subjects matter: Every teacher’s guide to content-area reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Jackson, Shirley. The lottery. Retrieved from http://www.jeanloupbenet.com/ lottery.pdf O’Shaughnessy, K. (2001). Everything I know about teaching language arts I learned at an office supply store. The Quarterly, 23(2). Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/147 Porter-O’Donnell, C. (2004). Beyond the yellow highlighter: teaching annotation skills to improve reading comprehension. English Journal, 93(5), 82- 89.
Editor's Notes
- #13: Read page 1 of “The Lottery” while students follow along.
- #14: The link to the PDF opens the story in a PDF form so the teacher can write student annotations on the board. After students have shared their marks and comments, continue reading the story aloud, stopping periodically to compile student comments. This may take more than one class.