Annotate
You teach adults. Your students are responsible for their own learning. They are supposed to know what to do… But what if they don’t?
Let’s help your students become active readers.
SITUATION
Depending on their background, your students may not even know how to effectively read. They come from different schools, sometimes different countries and have had different learning experiences. Adding language barriers, learning disabilities, family and responsibilities, they may be struggling more than you think.
PROBLEM
My students do not read.
They are not motivated.
They believe they do not need to read in order to complete the assignments (but they do!).
They read but still do not understand.
They hate reading.
STRATEGY
ANNOTATE YOUR READING- MODELLED READING
Take the time (it’s worth it!) to teach your students how to read and annotate their text.
Choose a model text for your students, preferably from their students’ textbook. If you have an individualized course (each student is at a different model) choose an article referring to the field of study, so all students follow your modelling.
Modelling of new concepts is a common approach used during teaching. Explicit verbalization, also known as think aloud, enables students to seemingly see inside the teacher’s mind to see how decisions are made (Word and sentence level, 2020).
To model how to read, you will read out loud. You need to verbalize every step of your reading so students understand what they are supposed to do and how they should do it. If possible, have the text on the board and annotate it as you go, so students can clearly see what you are doing.
LESSON PLAN
1. Prepare the material (text, pencil, highlighter)
2. Star by skimming the text. Read the titles/subtitles/images…
3. Start reading and annotating the text while pausing to verbalize your thinking.
4. At the end of the reading, ask students why they believe annotating a text is important and how do they believe this strategy would help them improve their learning and grades. Write their answers on the board.
5. Watch the following video with the students.
6. Discuss with the students about their predictions and the video. When possible, have them pair-up and summarize the importance of annotating their readings. When working in teams, students use the information in oral interaction, giving them a better chance to process and understand the content. You can also summarize as a class.
7. Be clear on your expectations for the rest of their reading assignments. If you ask them to always annotate their readings, it will become an automatism.
DOWNLOADS
References
Victoria State Government. (2020, August 26). Word and sentence level. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/Pages/word-and-sentence-level.aspx