Elizabeth van der Velde August 2015 How to Annotate A Text Elizabeth van der Velde August 2015

Video Lesson Objectives By the end of the lesson, you should be able to explain why annotating a text is a way to self-evaluate your comprehension. At the end of the lesson you should be able to describe the four key annotation strategies.

Why does annotation help your comprehension? Engages you in a conversation with a text. Records your thoughts so you can participate actively in class. Records your questions to be answered later.

What are the four key strategies used in annotation? Clarify Question Connect Predict

Clarify Define words or slang Summarize difficult passages Study or jot down important historical context or social customs of the time period.

Question Jot down questions that come to your mind as you read

Connect Make meaningful connections to your life experiences Make connections to other parts of the text Make connections to other texts Point out literary techniques and/or symbolism in the text

Predict What do you think will happen next? If a character has a hard choice to make, what is your predicition for their decision? Why? How will the story end? How will character’s relationships change and develop? Why do you think the author chose to end the story this way?

What NOT to do Highlight everything Be inconsistent Sweat the small stuff

Tricks for annotating a text well Develop a code for your annotations and make a legend Sketch or doodle in response to your reading to represent main ideas or themes Keep practicing