Collaborating for Comprehension

About this Support Strategy

Tapping into prior knowledge is important for reading comprehension. However, if a student does not have the background in a specific topic, it could potentially impact their understanding and how they approach the text. In this strategy, students collaborate to annotate a text. They can work on it at the same time or asynchronously. Students choose a color for their annotations that must be different from their classmates. Then, all their highlighting and comments will be tagged with that color. Students write their annotations in the table and are allowed to respond to the questions or comments from their group members. It's a great way for students to build their background knowledge and learn from each other.

This Strategy in Action

Annotation Collaboration

Look for

Follow the student's conversation and notes by looking at the color coded key at the top. Notice how students can ask questions, respond to each other, or offer their prior knowledge. These steps can help shape a student's understanding of the text.

Implementing this Strategy

Step 1. Create a Doc with a two-column table. In the left column, place the article. Every 1-2 paragraphs, add a new row so that you create pause points in the article. Leave the right column blank. That's going to be for students to add their comments and annotations.

Step 2. Explain the process to your students. Ideally, they should be comfortable making notes independently before transitioning to the collaborative model.

Step 3. Make one copy of the document for each group. I have an original template and then I usually use the "File" and "Make a Copy" process for the number of groups I need. I rename all the files "TITLE- Group #" so I can easily use the differentiation feature to assign it on Google Classroom.

Step 4. Have students choose their highlight/text color.

Step 5. As the students go through the article, they should highlight parts of the article and add comments to the table. They can also respond to the existing comments from their classmates, including answering questions.

Step 6. When students are ready, encourage them to expand on their annotations by adding links to help answer questions or tagging specific students within the annotation to start a conversation.

Use the Template!

Annotation Collaboration Template

Return to strategies

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse