How to Teach Annotation to Kids that Works

Teaching students to annotate a text is, well, an adventure at an amusement park. Sometimes there are ferris wheel vibes and other times we are on the Teacups counting the minutes until the ride stops. 

I have taught 3rd-6th grades and I promise you that it is possible! There is always a learning curve, but it is worth it! The key is to take baby steps and teach it well. If you don’t teach the method and piece it together, it could be a disaster.

Yes, I am talking from experience. 

Why I use annotation:

  • Metacognition: Students are thinking about their thinking while reading and reacting
  • Analyzation: Students are analyzing what is important and/or interesting to them. 
  • Comprehension: of course the end goal of everything we do in the ELAR classroom, students are devouring and understanding what they read when they have to pause and think more critically about what they read.

Repeat after me. A FEW elements at a time.

At the beginning of the year, I use Carla’s Sandwich to introduce the concept of annotation. Throughout the year, I use other picture books, Scholastic News/Storyworks, or articles by the one and only Shelly Rees. (Another great one seen below is The Crayon Man!)

By 5th grade, students are able to learn about 6 marks, but when implementing the marks we go slowly.  After I teach the 6 steps, I want to tell you I NEVER have my students do all of the marks at the same time. We focus on 1-3 each time. It is too overwhelming for them as they are learning why metacognition works. This is the first reading lesson of the year and I continue to implement this standard all throughout our anthology lessons, novel studies, and Picture Book Playground activities. 

I use the same marks throughout the year and I do not change them. I know many anthologies have marks, but the marks I have chosen for my students are teacher taught and kid approved

Steps to teach:

  1. I read a picture book like The Crayon Man and allow the students to just sit back and relax. 
  2. The following day I introduce POP, Like a Confetti Moment annotation marks. The ones I provide for you {favorite, Important, I Wonder?, I learned, Text to Text, and Text to Self} are the ones I believe allow students to take ownership in their learning
  3. We start slow. I explain ONE mark at a time and then I model what it looks like to annotate “favorite”. I will reread a passage from The Crayon Man with the lens of looking for my favorite part. Spoiler alert, I have already mapped everything out so I know what I am going to use. Then since I can’t write in the book, I will post a pink sticky note next to my favorite sentence.
  4. I will walk through what it looks like to say WHY it is my favorite part. I continue doing this for all the 6 elements. 

In POP, Like a Confetti Moment: The Crayon Man the students will practice annotating with a small excerpt from the story. THIS IS GREAT because they can highlight sentences from the story using coordinating colors. 

This skill is hard, but the more you do it, the better the students will become. Interested in other annotation practice pages? You can find one in each of our POP, Like a Confetti Moment resources

Check out this FREE poster that I use to show my students ways to annotate as we approach any text: picture books, passages, etc!

**this blog uses affiliate links**

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