ANNOTATIONS

Why annotate? Complaints: It slows down my reading I just want to enjoy the book No one even reads my annotations Benefits It slows down your reading  Helps you reach a deeper level of engagement with the text Promotes active reading Leaves a visible record of your thoughts while you are making sense of your reading I (Ms. Waite) read your annotations because it gives me an idea of what you’re thinking and helps me to know what to re-teach, cover in more depth, or expound on

My Expectations…

Engage with the text Make predictions – what do you think will happen next? Ask questions of the text and author State your opinions Analyze the author’s craft (this means question the author’s word choices, plot development, characterization, etc. – how is the author’s style unique and different from other things you’ve read? How is it the same?)

Connections Text to text Text to self Text to world

Literary Elements This includes things like, but not limited to, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, understatement, irony, foreshadowing, personification, imagery, etc. (See your white packet of literary elements I gave you.) Mark ‘em down. Underline, highlight, star, note … You don’t need to mark every single little element, BUT you should mark quite a few. Often the reason you’re reading the books that we are this year is BECAUSE of their literary merit, which includes the author’s use of these elements.

Reflections Who, what, when, where, why Look for patterns, repetitions Summaries – periodically jot down summaries of the chapter or section of the book. (A good spot to do this is at the end of each chapter.)

How do I do this? Color code (give a key!) Mark with shapes (give a key!) Sticky notes or flags (can be color-coded) Always with a pen or pencil – just highlighting is NOT enough The important part is that you find a system that works for you – each student’s annotations will look differently because your system should be tailored to YOU.

Source Porter-O'donnell, C. (n.d.). Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension. The English Journal, 82-82.