How and why to annotate

1. How and why to annotate • Inquiry Skills

2. Why Annotate? • Improves depth of reading and understanding over a long period of time • Helps with test performance • Makes the reading more meaningful • Helps you remember key information

3. What’s the Difference? • Annotations are written directly on the text • Fewer pieces to keep organized • Deeper initial reading • Creates a dialogue between you and the author

4. Criteria for Successful Annotation • You will know you have successfully annotated a text when you go back after an initial reading and can recall important information within a 15-30 minute review of the text and your notes

5. When Should I Annotate? • Annotate any text you must know well, in detail, and might need to produce evidence that supports your knowledge. • You don’t have to annotate when reading for pleasure.

6. What do I annotate *Ask questions of the author *Make inferences about the speaker or narrator *Main ideas and supportive details *Use text to form inferences *Mark words you don’t understand

7. But it’s not my book... • Use sticky notes of different sizes and highlighting tape. • Be sure to remove all stickies before turning the book in for the year.

8. Tools • Highlighter: highlights whatever seems to be key information. • Pencil: use marginalia (notes section/margins) to mark key material. Use check marks, question marks, arrows, brackets, and written words and phrases. Create your own system.

9. Your Text • Inside front cover, keep a running list of key information with page numbers: themes, passages that relate to the title, characters’ names, salient quotes, important scenes, key vocabulary

10. Tips • After each chunk, chapter or section, briefly summarize the material • Title each chapter or section as soon as you finish it • Make a list of vocabulary words on inside cover: jargon, unknown or interesting words

11. Describe this reader’s annotation process.