Annotation: A Writing-to-Learn

Strategy

Jo Ann HallGreenville High SchoolNorth Star of Texas Writing ProgramSummer InstituteJune 25, 2008

You just don’t know

anything unless you can write it.

S.I. Hayakawa

Annotation: A tool for transaction

“Rosenblatt has demonstrated that the meaning made of a literary text depends upon the readers as well as upon the text itself. Meaning is the product of a transaction betweenactive minds and the words on the page …it is their [the readers’]meaning.”

Robert Probst

Why annotation? Isn’t reading the text enough?

Probst’s description of reader’s response as “dialogue with the text” is remarkable because it signifies the student’s roles and responsibility in making connections between the text and himself.

Carol Porter-O’Donnell notes that annotation of the text provides a “visible record of the thoughts that emerge while making sense ofthe reading.”

More rationale for annotation

According to Porter-O’Donnell, this“writing-to-learn” strategy

• helps teach reading as a process.• changes comprehension.• slows down the reading.• promotes more active reading.• helps improve writing.

Support equals scaffolding

“Comprehension of difficult text can be significantly enhanced …with discussion-based activities in which students are invited to make predictions, summarize, link texts with one another and background knowledge, generate and answer text-related questions, clarify understanding, muster relevant evidence to support an interpretation, and interrelate reading, writing, and discussion.”

Applebee & Langer, 2003

I contend, quite bluntly,that marking up a book is not

an act of mutilation but of love. You shouldn’t mark upa book which isn’t yours.

Mortimer J. Adler

“How to Mark a Book”

Teaching annotation requires student-awareness of categories of text responsePorter-O’Donnell recommends brainstorming with student-writtenliterature responses and having students separate these responses into categories. Students typically identify categories such as these:

Making predictionsAsking questionsStating opinions

Study of the author’s craftMaking connections

Reflecting on content or the reading process

If you do not have paper copies available for students to mark up, have them use sticky notes or keep notes with references to page and paragraph numbers.

Suggested annotation marksDURING READING (Adapted from Porter-O’Donnell)

Mark in the text:

Characters (who) ○ When (setting) □ Where (setting) □ Vocabulary Important information

Write in the margins: Summarize Make predictions Formulate opinions Make connections Ask questions Analyze the author's craft Write reflections/reactions/comments Look for patterns/repetitions

Guidelines for annotation• A first reading should not be annotated.

• Students should mark the piece for surface meaning (vocabulary, who, what, etc.)

• Students must write an explanation for anything which they have underlined or highlighted.

• Initially, model while identifying only a couple of elements: for example, alliteration or rhyme scheme or development of characterization. Later in the year, students can really dissect a piece.

• Begin with a piece of fiction before attempting non-fiction.

• Begin by focusing on a paragraph, then another, then a page, and then “set them loose” on the text.

• Remind students to use the annotation handout for reference; you may want to hang posters with annotation symbols around the room.

Substitute sticky notes or loose-leaf paper for annotation if individual copies of

the text are not available for annotation.

Now, let’s try it together.

First, we’ll work with fiction, then we’ll try non-fiction.

You know you have to read “between the lines”….I want to persuade you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading.

Mortimer J. Adler

“How to Mark a Book”

ELA TEKS(4)  Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a tool for

learning. The student is expected to: (A)  use writing to formulate questions, refine topics, and clarify

ideas; (B)  use writing to discover, organize, and support what is known

and what needs to be learned about a topic;

(6)  Reading/word identification/vocabulary development

(7)  Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies.

(10)  Reading/literary response. The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. The student is expected to:(A)  respond to informational and aesthetic elements in texts such as discussions, journals, oral interpretations, and dramatizations;(B)  use elements of text to defend his/her own responses and interpretations;

(11)  Reading/literary concepts

(13)  Reading/inquiry/research

Extensions and ConnectionsAnnotation skill lends itself to many levels, subject areas, and types

of literature.

You and your students may create your own version of annotation symbols.

Change highlighter or pen colors to address your focus. Example: Yellow for main idea in a paragraph and orange for supporting details.

References“Annolighting” a text. (2008). Retrieved June 24, 2008, from

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Reading/Reading%20strategies/annolighting%20a%20text.htm

Applebee, A.N, Langer, J.A., Nystrand, M., & Gamoran, A. (2003). Discussion-based approaches to developing understanding: Classroom instruction and student performance in middle and high school English. American Educational Research Journal, 40 (3), 685-730.

Divans-Hutchinson, Y., (2008, June 22). Video posted to http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/quest/collections/sites/divans-hutchinson_yvonne/media/yvonneoct0803.mov

Porter-O’Donnell, C. Beyond the yellow highlighter: Teaching annotation skills to improve reading comprehension. English Journal, 93 (5), 82-90.

Probst, R. Dialogue with a text. English Journal, 77 (1), 32-38.