Annotating

Marking Text for Understanding

Active reading strategy

Think critically Analyze ideas Evaluate ideas Focus on what is said in the text

Leading to comprehension & retention

Why Mark Text?

Isolate essential information

Quickly reference info during writing assignments / class discussions

Assist in writing summaries To connect text To analyze To investigate

Why Mark Text…

As long as your text is a copy and not a

textbook, library/school novel or someone else’s property, you should mark as you read:

Newspapers Articles

Copies of text

Can use sticky notes to “mark” property

When should I mark?

Look at the: title headings subheadings illustrations captions bold or italic words What do they point out to the reader?

Preview The Text

Before you read, number the paragraphs in the section you are about to read.

Start w/number 1 Write the number near the paragraph indention

and circle the number Write small so you have room for other writing

in the marginThe numbers will act as a reference for future notes.MATH – When reading a word problem that is only 1 paragraph, number each sentence

Numbering

Numbering paragraphs Circling key terms Underlining information relevant to

one’s reading purpose

3 Distinct Marks

Circling

Key terms Lesson/Content based vocabulary Cited authors Other essential words or numbers

Read to identify information that is relevant to the reading task.

Author’s claim (s) Other information relevant to the reading

purpose

Underlining

Math – Word problems / Multiple choice questions

Draw a box around the question

Use [ Brackets ] for information when underlining has been used for another purpose.

You can also box words when circling has been used for another purpose

Other Marks

Specific Markings This is important information- (student should write out why

this is important in the +margin) V New Vocabulary – (underline context clues) Q I have a question - (write out the question in the margin) ? I am confused – (write what the confusion is about in the margin) ! This is surprising or exciting to me - (write why in the margin) L I learned something new- (write new understanding in the margin) C I made a connection- (write what it is in the margin)

Do I know anything about the subject? Can I make a connection to something? Do I have questions about something in the

article? Am I confused about something? Did I learn something new?

These questions will help you identify what you should be annotating.

Ask Questions as you read

Identify the main idea of the article in your

own words.

Write it at the end of the article so you can reference it in the future and recall your thought process.

After annotating