Embedded Files
Writing in the margins challenges students to think about and clarify ideas in a text as they read. The focus for the notes in the margin depends on the purpose for reading and what will follow (e.g., discussions or writing assignments). This practice is often included in close reading and other critical reading strategies. Notes in the margins can be used to engage with the reading when the student
has a copy of the text that they can keep. Otherwise, sticky notes offer a way to mark a text and can be easily removed for subsequent readers. Sticky notes also have an additional benefit in that pages can be tabbed and color-coding can be used to signal different kinds of thinking. When the notes are removed, they can be placed on plain paper to serve as a record of a student’s thinking throughout the text. The teacher can use the collected notes as an assessment of learning.
STEPS:
HANDOUTS: Distribute the following Student Handouts. These will serve as resources for students as they gain familiarity with writing in the margins.
STICK NOTES: Sticky notes containing thoughts and wonderings, as well as hand-written notes in the margins, can be used during reading to provide a means of making visible the inner conversation that the reader has with the text while reading it.
The notes can be used to stimulate discussion and debate, to prepare for a presentation or a report, and to set goals for improving vocabulary comprehension.
DEMONSTRATE: Copy a text and enlarge it to demonstrate and think aloud while writing in the margins or using sticky notes.
THINK ALOUD: Think aloud and demonstrate the method that you are teaching with symbols and/or words in the margins or on sticky notes.
PARTNER WORK RO COMPLETE: Ask students to work in partners, and then individually, to duplicate the process that they are learning.
STUDENT SHARE: Ask students to share strategies and use these notes for discussion or writing assignments.
SYMBOLS: Symbol ideas for writing in the margins should be posted on a chart in the classroom. A few suggested symbols are included below:
lol = funny part
! = surprise
? = “I have a question about this word or section”
* = main idea/theme
♥ = favorite part
SCAFFOLDS:
Introduce using notes in the margins or sticky notes, with extensive teacher modeling and think-aloud demonstrations.
Use during a read-aloud to show the class how to apply the strategy.
Choose a focus of fewer features (i.e., start with one, move to two, then proceed to three).
Introduce during small group or guided reading lessons using sticky notes to mark areas for discussion based on the focus of the lesson. Ideas include evidence to support a prediction, main idea of a story, words that are tricky or confusing, description of the main character, description of setting, etc.
Ask students to mark areas for discussion with others: “I think...” or “I’m confused about....”
Create connections to discuss after reading.
Use Student Handouts to demonstrate the strategy of Text-to-Self, Text-to-Text, and Text-to-World while doing a read-aloud of a familiar text (Keene & Zimmerman, 2007).
Use a hand signal (e.g., students interlocking their index fingers and holding them up) to indicate that they have a connection during the read-aloud.
Prompt students to talk about whether their connection is to self, another text, or the world.
Keep a list of connections on a chart that students can refer to, and then categorize for the students the type of connection that each shows.
After many repetitions of this connection strategy during read-aloud, ask students to begin writing in the margins while they are reading a text to indicate the type of connection.
Ask students to discuss with a partner and later write a sentence about what the connection is from the reading.
EXTENSIONS:
To increase rigor, when reading difficult passages from technical texts, have students summarize what is being stated in notes—referring to page and paragraph numbers—or use a sticky note that marks the page to refer to later and share in discussion.
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