annotation practice worksheet middle school pdf

Annotation Worksheets

True or False

The Process

Annotating a Text

What the Symbol Means

Annotate with Symbols

Annotate the Passage

Annotating Fiction

Connections and Style

Annotate the Presidential Passage

Article Annotation

Annotated Bibliography

For Research

Bibliography Template

Bibliography Template #2

All about these 15 worksheets.

These worksheets for students about annotation are designed to help students engage more deeply with texts by actively analyzing and interpreting them. They include a variety of activities that encourage critical thinking and annotation techniques.

Some of the activities that are included in these worksheets involve:

• Identifying key information – Students may be asked to identify key information in a text, such as main ideas, supporting details, and themes.
• Making notes – Students are encouraged to make notes in the margins of the text, highlighting important information or writing questions and comments.
• Creating symbols or anntotations – Students are tasked to make their own symbols to use to annotate texts so they can truly comprehend and connect with what they read.

Overall, these worksheets can help students to develop the important skill of active reading and critical thinking. By engaging with texts in a meaningful way through annotation, students can deepen their understanding of the content and develop their ability to analyze and interpret texts effectively.

Tips to effective annotation

Annotation is a powerful technique that can help students engage more deeply with texts and improve their critical thinking and analytical skills. Here are some tips for students on how to effectively annotate texts.

• Read actively: When reading a text, try to read actively rather than passively. This means actively engaging with the content, asking questions, and thinking critically about what you’re reading.
• Mark up the text: Use a highlighter or pen to mark up the text, highlighting key information or writing notes in the margins. This will help you to remember important information and to make connections between different parts of the text.
• Identify key information: Look for key information in the text, such as main ideas, supporting details, and themes. This will help you to understand the overall meaning of the text.
• Summarize: Try to summarize the main ideas of each section or passage of the text in your own words. This will help you to process the information and to ensure that you’ve fully understood the content.
• Analyze literary devices: Look for literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and allusions, and think about how they contribute to the meaning of the text.
• Write questions and comments: Write questions and comments in the margins of the text, and use these as a starting point for further discussion or analysis.

Effective annotation requires active engagement with the text, careful analysis, and critical thinking. By using these tips, students can improve their ability to engage with texts and develop their analytical skills.

What’s an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (such as books, articles, and other documents) that includes a brief summary and evaluation of each source. The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to provide an overview of the literature on a particular topic and to evaluate the quality and relevance of each source.

Annotated bibliographies can be used for a variety of purposes, such as to provide an overview of the literature on a particular topic, to evaluate the quality of sources for a research project, or to provide a reference list for a paper or presentation. They are often used in academic research to help researchers find and evaluate relevant sources on a particular topic.

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September 21, 2023 ELA PD - Literacy , ELA K-5 , ELA 6-8 , ELA Focus - Close Reading , ELA Resources - Tip Sheets , Core Literacy

Annotating text strategies that enhance close reading [free printable], by: erin lynch.

One of the most important skills I teach my students as we begin to work on close reading is how to annotate texts. Teaching annotation strategies will help students keep track of key ideas while reading. In this article, you'll discover annotating strategies that will enhance close reading and free printable resources you can use in the classroom!

 Download the Annotating Practice Kit now!

Annotating Text Strategies

Annotating a text is when the reader “marks up” a text to indicate places of importance or something they don’t understand. Sometimes students annotate by circling a word, underlining a phrase or highlighting a sentence. Annotating also includes writing notes in the margin; these notes might be thoughts or questions about the text. This process of annotating helps the reader keep track of ideas and questions and supports deeper understanding of the text.

Teaching annotation strategies will help students keep track of key ideas, and will help them formulate thoughts and questions they have while reading.

Benefits of Annotating a Text

The benefits of annotation include:

• Keeping track of key ideas and questions
• Helping formulate thoughts and questions for deeper understanding
• Fostering analyzing and interpreting texts
• Encouraging the reader to make inferences and draw conclusions about the text
• Allowing the reader to easily refer back to the text without rereading the text in its entirety

Annotating With a Purpose

Students are taught to read with a purpose, and they should also be taught to annotate with a purpose. Teaching students to annotate with a purpose will help them focus on what is most important about the text.

When teaching annotation I instruct students to use the following symbols:

Underline key ideas and major points.

Write a ? next to anything that is confusing, such as unfamiliar words or unclear information.

Circle key words or phrases.

Put an ! next to surprising or important information or information that helps you make a connection.

Printable Annotation Examples and Activities

Model for annotating a text , grades 2–5.

Download my Model for Annotating a Text which uses the poem The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt. My students have enjoyed using this poem as an introduction to the close reading of poetry and the skill of annotating.

The Model for Annotating a Text download includes an instructional tip sheet and annotation examples for students. You can make individual copies for your students to keep handy, or enlarge the annotation example to a poster size and hang it in the classroom!

Here's how to use the Model for Annotating a Text :

Explain to students that the annotations of skillful readers identify what they don’t understand and point out major facts or ideas they want to remember and use in their discussions and writing. Annotation also encourages readers to make inferences and to draw conclusions about the text, as well as to make interpretations on a deeper level.

Next, review the symbols students should use when annotating a text. Caution students that over-annotating will be confusing rather than helpful.

Then read the poem The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt and pause to model how to annotate with your students.

"I Have a Dream" Close Reading Kit, Grades 3–8

My "I Have a Dream" Close Reading Kit also includes resources for teaching close reading annotation! In the kit you'll find an instructional guide for teachers and annotations for the first 10 paragraphs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. Use this kit to model close reading in your classroom!

Annotating Practice Worksheets Kit, Grades 1–8

Once your students have learned the correct way to annotate a text, have them practice annotating with a purpose! With the Annotating Practice Kit , students will practice their annotation skills while reading the following articles:

• The First Playground
• The Dove and the Ant
• Sea Otters!

In Conclusion

Teaching your students how to annotate with a purpose will help them keep track of key ideas, and will help them formulate thoughts and questions they have while reading. It also encourages the reader to make inferences and draw conclusions about the text, as well as, make interpretations on a deeper level. Annotating allows the reader to easily refer back to the text without rereading the text in its entirety.

Grab the free downloads today and use them with students as they begin to annotate texts.

How to Annotate Texts

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Annotation Fundamentals

How to start annotating , how to annotate digital texts, how to annotate a textbook, how to annotate a scholarly article or book, how to annotate literature, how to annotate images, videos, and performances, additional resources for teachers.

Writing in your books can make you smarter. Or, at least (according to education experts), annotation–an umbrella term for underlining, highlighting, circling, and, most importantly, leaving comments in the margins–helps students to remember and comprehend what they read. Annotation is like a conversation between reader and text. Proper annotation allows students to record their own opinions and reactions, which can serve as the inspiration for research questions and theses. So, whether you're reading a novel, poem, news article, or science textbook, taking notes along the way can give you an advantage in preparing for tests or writing essays. This guide contains resources that explain the benefits of annotating texts, provide annotation tools, and suggest approaches for diverse kinds of texts; the last section includes lesson plans and exercises for teachers.

Why annotate? As the resources below explain, annotation allows students to emphasize connections to material covered elsewhere in the text (or in other texts), material covered previously in the course, or material covered in lectures and discussion. In other words, proper annotation is an organizing tool and a time saver. The links in this section will introduce you to the theory, practice, and purpose of annotation. 

How to Mark a Book, by Mortimer Adler

This famous, charming essay lays out the case for marking up books, and provides practical suggestions at the end including underlining, highlighting, circling key words, using vertical lines to mark shifts in tone/subject, numbering points in an argument, and keeping track of questions that occur to you as you read. 

How Annotation Reshapes Student Thinking (TeacherHUB)

In this article, a high school teacher discusses the importance of annotation and how annotation encourages more effective critical thinking.

The Future of Annotation (Journal of Business and Technical Communication)

This scholarly article summarizes research on the benefits of annotation in the classroom and in business. It also discusses how technology and digital texts might affect the future of annotation. 

Annotating to Deepen Understanding (Texas Education Agency)

This website provides another introduction to annotation (designed for 11th graders). It includes a helpful section that teaches students how to annotate reading comprehension passages on tests.

Once you understand what annotation is, you're ready to begin. But what tools do you need? How do you prepare? The resources linked in this section list strategies and techniques you can use to start annotating. 

What is Annotating? (Charleston County School District)

This resource gives an overview of annotation styles, including useful shorthands and symbols. This is a good place for a student who has never annotated before to begin.

How to Annotate Text While Reading (YouTube)

This video tutorial (appropriate for grades 6–10) explains the basic ins and outs of annotation and gives examples of the type of information students should be looking for.

Annotation Practices: Reading a Play-text vs. Watching Film (U Calgary)

This blog post, written by a student, talks about how the goals and approaches of annotation might change depending on the type of text or performance being observed. 

Annotating Texts with Sticky Notes (Lyndhurst Schools)

Sometimes students are asked to annotate books they don't own or can't write in for other reasons. This resource provides some strategies for using sticky notes instead.

Teaching Students to Close Read...When You Can't Mark the Text (Performing in Education)

Here, a sixth grade teacher demonstrates the strategies she uses for getting her students to annotate with sticky notes. This resource includes a link to the teacher's free Annotation Bookmark (via Teachers Pay Teachers).

Digital texts can present a special challenge when it comes to annotation; emerging research suggests that many students struggle to critically read and retain information from digital texts. However, proper annotation can solve the problem. This section contains links to the most highly-utilized platforms for electronic annotation.

Evernote is one of the two big players in the "digital annotation apps" game. In addition to allowing users to annotate digital documents, the service (for a fee) allows users to group multiple formats (PDF, webpages, scanned hand-written notes) into separate notebooks, create voice recordings, and sync across all sorts of devices. 

OneNote is Evernote's main competitor. Reviews suggest that OneNote allows for more freedom for digital note-taking than Evernote, but that it is slightly more awkward to import and annotate a PDF, especially on certain platforms. However, OneNote's free version is slightly more feature-filled, and OneNote allows you to link your notes to time stamps on an audio recording.

Diigo is a basic browser extension that allows a user to annotate webpages. Diigo also offers a Screenshot app that allows for direct saving to Google Drive.

While the creators of Hypothesis like to focus on their app's social dimension, students are more likely to be interested in the private highlighting and annotating functions of this program.

Foxit PDF Reader

Foxit is one of the leading PDF readers. Though the full suite must be purchased, Foxit offers a number of annotation and highlighting tools for free.

Nitro PDF Reader

This is another well-reviewed, free PDF reader that includes annotation and highlighting. Annotation, text editing, and other tools are included in the free version.

Goodreader is a very popular Mac-only app that includes annotation and editing tools for PDFs, Word documents, Powerpoint, and other formats.

Although textbooks have vocabulary lists, summaries, and other features to emphasize important material, annotation can allow students to process information and discover their own connections. This section links to guides and video tutorials that introduce you to textbook annotation. 

Annotating Textbooks (Niagara University)

This PDF provides a basic introduction as well as strategies including focusing on main ideas, working by section or chapter, annotating in your own words, and turning section headings into questions.

A Simple Guide to Text Annotation (Catawba College)

The simple, practical strategies laid out in this step-by-step guide will help students learn how to break down chapters in their textbooks using main ideas, definitions, lists, summaries, and potential test questions.

Annotating (Mercer Community College)

This packet, an excerpt from a literature textbook, provides a short exercise and some examples of how to do textbook annotation, including using shorthand and symbols.

Reading Your Healthcare Textbook: Annotation (Saddleback College)

This powerpoint contains a number of helpful suggestions, especially for students who are new to annotation. It emphasizes limited highlighting, lots of student writing, and using key words to find the most important information in a textbook. Despite the title, it is useful to a student in any discipline.

Annotating a Textbook (Excelsior College OWL)

This video (with included transcript) discusses how to use textbook features like boxes and sidebars to help guide annotation. It's an extremely helpful, detailed discussion of how textbooks are organized.

Because scholarly articles and books have complex arguments and often depend on technical vocabulary, they present particular challenges for an annotating student. The resources in this section help students get to the heart of scholarly texts in order to annotate and, by extension, understand the reading.

Annotating a Text (Hunter College)

This resource is designed for college students and shows how to annotate a scholarly article using highlighting, paraphrase, a descriptive outline, and a two-margin approach. It ends with a sample passage marked up using the strategies provided. 

Guide to Annotating the Scholarly Article (ReadWriteThink.org)

This is an effective introduction to annotating scholarly articles across all disciplines. This resource encourages students to break down how the article uses primary and secondary sources and to annotate the types of arguments and persuasive strategies (synthesis, analysis, compare/contrast).

How to Highlight and Annotate Your Research Articles (CHHS Media Center)

This video, developed by a high school media specialist, provides an effective beginner-level introduction to annotating research articles. 

How to Read a Scholarly Book (AndrewJacobs.org)

In this essay, a college professor lets readers in on the secrets of scholarly monographs. Though he does not discuss annotation, he explains how to find a scholarly book's thesis, methodology, and often even a brief literature review in the introduction. This is a key place for students to focus when creating annotations. 

A 5-step Approach to Reading Scholarly Literature and Taking Notes (Heather Young Leslie)

This resource, written by a professor of anthropology, is an even more comprehensive and detailed guide to reading scholarly literature. Combining the annotation techniques above with the reading strategy here allows students to process scholarly book efficiently. 

Annotation is also an important part of close reading works of literature. Annotating helps students recognize symbolism, double meanings, and other literary devices. These resources provide additional guidelines on annotating literature.

AP English Language Annotation Guide (YouTube)

In this ~10 minute video, an AP Language teacher provides tips and suggestions for using annotations to point out rhetorical strategies and other important information.

Annotating Text Lesson (YouTube)

In this video tutorial, an English teacher shows how she uses the white board to guide students through annotation and close reading. This resource uses an in-depth example to model annotation step-by-step.

Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls (Purdue OWL)

This resources demonstrates how annotation is a central part of a solid close reading strategy; it also lists common mistakes to avoid in the annotation process.

AP Literature Assignment: Annotating Literature (Mount Notre Dame H.S.)

This brief assignment sheet contains suggestions for what to annotate in a novel, including building connections between parts of the book, among multiple books you are reading/have read, and between the book and your own experience. It also includes samples of quality annotations.

AP Handout: Annotation Guide (Covington Catholic H.S.)

This annotation guide shows how to keep track of symbolism, figurative language, and other devices in a novel using a highlighter, a pencil, and every part of a book (including the front and back covers).

In addition to written resources, it's possible to annotate visual "texts" like theatrical performances, movies, sculptures, and paintings. Taking notes on visual texts allows students to recall details after viewing a resource which, unlike a book, can't be re-read or re-visited ( for example, a play that has finished its run, or an art exhibition that is far away). These resources draw attention to the special questions and techniques that students should use when dealing with visual texts.

How to Take Notes on Videos (U of Southern California)

This resource is a good place to start for a student who has never had to take notes on film before. It briefly outlines three general approaches to note-taking on a film. 

How to Analyze a Movie, Step-by-Step (San Diego Film Festival)

This detailed guide provides lots of tips for film criticism and analysis. It contains a list of specific questions to ask with respect to plot, character development, direction, musical score, cinematography, special effects, and more. 

How to "Read" a Film (UPenn)

This resource provides an academic perspective on the art of annotating and analyzing a film. Like other resources, it provides students a checklist of things to watch out for as they watch the film.

Art Annotation Guide (Gosford Hill School)

This resource focuses on how to annotate a piece of art with respect to its formal elements like line, tone, mood, and composition. It contains a number of helpful questions and relevant examples. 

Photography Annotation (Arts at Trinity)

This resource is designed specifically for photography students. Like some of the other resources on this list, it primarily focuses on formal elements, but also shows students how to integrate the specific technical vocabulary of modern photography. This resource also contains a number of helpful sample annotations.

How to Review a Play (U of Wisconsin)

This resource from the University of Wisconsin Writing Center is designed to help students write a review of a play. It contains suggested questions for students to keep in mind as they watch a given production. This resource helps students think about staging, props, script alterations, and many other key elements of a performance.

This section contains links to lessons plans and exercises suitable for high school and college instructors.

Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension (English Journal)

In this journal article, a high school teacher talks about her approach to teaching annotation. This article makes a clear distinction between annotation and mere highlighting.

Lesson Plan for Teaching Annotation, Grades 9–12 (readwritethink.org)

This lesson plan, published by the National Council of Teachers of English, contains four complete lessons that help introduce high school students to annotation.

Teaching Theme Using Close Reading (Performing in Education)

This lesson plan was developed by a middle school teacher, and is aligned to Common Core. The teacher presents her strategies and resources in comprehensive fashion.

Analyzing a Speech Using Annotation (UNC-TV/PBS Learning Media)

This complete lesson plan, which includes a guide for the teacher and relevant handouts for students, will prepare students to analyze both the written and presentation components of a speech. This lesson plan is best for students in 6th–10th grade.

Writing to Learn History: Annotation and Mini-Writes (teachinghistory.org)

This teaching guide, developed for high school History classes, provides handouts and suggested exercises that can help students become more comfortable with annotating historical sources.

Writing About Art (The College Board)

This Prezi presentation is useful to any teacher introducing students to the basics of annotating art. The presentation covers annotating for both formal elements and historical/cultural significance.

Film Study Worksheets (TeachWithMovies.org)

This resource contains links to a general film study worksheet, as well as specific worksheets for novel adaptations, historical films, documentaries, and more. These resources are appropriate for advanced middle school students and some high school students. 

Annotation Practice Worksheet (La Guardia Community College)

This worksheet has a sample text and instructions for students to annotate it. It is a useful resource for teachers who want to give their students a chance to practice, but don't have the time to select an appropriate piece of text. 

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Annotating Practice Kit

Students are taught to read with a purpose, and they should also be taught to annotate with a purpose. Teaching students to annotate with a purpose will help them focus on what is most important about the text. Use the worksheets and text excerpts in the Annotating Practice Kit to get students annotating with a purpose. Kit includes:

• Annotating Practice: Eagles
• Annotating Practice: The First Playground
• Annotating Practice: The Dove and the Ant
• Annotating Practice: Sea Otters!

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Annotating Text in 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

Written by Guest Blogger Jessica Thompson

I remember telling my class we were going to annotate the text. Wait. We are going to anno-what?

Very simply put, to annotate is to take notes or add comments. For students in third, fourth, and fifth grade, learning to annotate the text they are reading will be an imperative skill as they get into middle school, high school, and beyond.

It will help them develop proper study skills, connect to and remember the text, as well as learn to track their own thinking. They will comprehend at a deeper level. It’s a skill that is often overlooked and students are expected to know how to do, but one that we should model to guide them towards success.

Beginning to Annotate Text in Upper Elementary

Students can track their thinking by writing in the margins of the text (if it is a consumable) or do their note-taking in a notebook as they read.

As you begin to teach annotations to students be sure to keep it simple. Start with writing down important facts, thoughts, questions, and unknown words. The students can look up the unknown words at a later time.

Make sure upper elementary students understand why they should annotate. They should be able to explain that it is a way for them to better understand the text and develop a deeper understanding of their thinking. It is also a great way for students to monitor their own comprehension. 

Be sure to discuss how students tracked their thinking while reading, so they will get ideas from each other. As you teach new skills in class, apply these to the annotations as well. For instance, if you are teaching main idea, have students identify details that support the main idea. Theme, character traits, problem and solution, etc. The opportunities for students to annotate is endless!

Scaffolding for Student Success

Annotating text will seem tedious to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students as they first begin, but soon you will see the quality and the amount that they are writing in those margins increase.

Model annotating text first to ease the students’ minds. Then, annotate together before you let them try it on their own. This gradual release will have them feeling confident as they track their thinking.

After the students get in a routine of annotating, give them a passage to annotate with comprehension questions. They will annotate the text as they read (and reread hopefully!) then go to the questions. They will see the value in annotating when they realize the notes they took helped them answer the questions. Some of the notes may even be the answers they needed. When students begin to have aha moments, let them share their insight with the class.

Shake it Up and Make Annotations Fun

• Use different colored pens. Let the students pick their favorite color, or all the colors,  to do their annotations. Kids love having a choice and this gives them some freedom. Your visual learners will love this!
• Use post its. If you are using a text book or library book that cannot be written in, then use post it notes to stick on the pages. No post its? No problem. Let student’s take notes on construction paper or colored computer paper. 
• Take a grade. This seems silly and so not fun, but when students realize that they can get a good grade annotating text, it really boosts them up. Their annotations should connect to the skills you are working on in class for it to make sense to take a grade. If you are teaching problem and solution, then their notes should identify the problem and events leading to the solution. 
• Science. Seriously, science period. Annotations are not just for reading class, so find an excerpt, a poem, a story, or an article that goes along with the topic being taught in science class and let the students get to work. 
• Choose your own text. Have a few options of articles, short stories, or poetry for students to choose from and let them annotate. Students will like choosing a genre and topic that they enjoy. Have options from sports, animals, and any other interesting topics that you know your students will enjoy.

As students get more confident annotating the text, you will begin to notice them doing it on their own. Yay! They will begin to annotate cold reads, homework, and tests and you will jump for joy as a teacher. The biggest challenge is time. Do not make annotations a separate lesson, but instead incorporate annotations into what you are already doing. Use text that you are already using in class. Work smarter not harder and you will see the benefits of annotating text through your students’ comprehension and higher level thinking.

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Close Reading Annotations

Hone reading skills by asking students to make close reading annotations! Perfect for fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms, this chocolate-themed worksheet introduces helpful markings for annotating a reading. Whether students are reading fiction or reading nonfiction, they can use these tools to better understand a text. Students will practice annotating a short passage, and then be ready to start annotating at home!

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Annotation Worksheets

Ela standard: secondary level writing.

There are many ways we can make important sections of the texts we read stick out to ourselves. There are often many key parts of a written work that are essential for readers to comprehend so that we can recall and use that information to understand the significance of text that comes along later. One active learning method that can be used for this purpose is adding annotations to text that you read. This is an effective reading strategy. It takes on many different forms. It often begins by using a highlighter to point out either key concepts or key words. If you do not have a highlighter handy, underlining with any writing implement has the same affect, but I just find it a little messy and harder to focus when revisiting it. This then eventually progresses to paraphrasing or summarizing main ideas. As you begin to master annotation you with write short comments that indicate the value of what you have read in your own words. On this page you will find a series of worksheets that will introduce you to using this technique in your own reading.

Annotation Worksheets To Print:

Explore It - Read the assigned text. Then follow the directions to see how to put this technique to work for you.

Using Symbols - Read and annotate the assigned text. Use the symbols presented below.

Outline - This is a graphic orgainzer designed to help you keep track of how you broke down some work.

Meaning of Symbols - It helps you make connections as you are reading. It also makes it easier to find things in the text again without having to re-read the whole thing.

Class Poster - You can use this as a classroom poster to remind them of how to take notes while they read.

Annotate the Passage - You are given a sizable passage to work with.

Working with Fiction - This points out all the things you need to pay attention to while reading fictional works.

Core Thoughts - Those focuses on the main concepts of a work.

Practice Passage - We ask you consider this passage and work with it.

Working with Articles - Read the article. Record your annotations below. Then write several paragraphs reflecting on what you have read. Include quotes from the text. At the bottom of your paper, record the citation for this text

Checklist - This is a great to assess if you looked as deep as you needed to.

The Annotated Bibliography - Create an annotation for one of the sources you used in your research project.

More Bibliographies - Work on the research that you need to get after it.

Is It Useful? - Write a few sentences about the strength/weaknesses of this source, any biases the author may have, and the relative usefulness of this source.

Bibliography Worksheet - This sets up everything you need to pay attention to.

Why, When, and How to Annotate Text

The why and when.

Annotating text has been shown to greatly enhance reading comprehension levels. It not only helps you remember what you read, but it can be used to form discussions and explore issues that the text brings about. You should use this method when you are reading anything that is important for you to fully understand. When you first begin using this technique you will most likely focus on keywords and phrases. If you are annotating a text that you have some time with, you should focus not only the main idea of each paragraph but writing what each point means to you. Eventually you will be able to read a piece and understand the writer’s intention for put this piece together and what they were trying to accomplish with it. This will allow you to attribute a level of value to what you have read.

In the best situation you should fully read a text before you go back and make annotations. An old professor of my compared it to driving on a racecourse. When a racer wants to win a race, they review the course to best understand what they should be doing at each turn and straightaway. The same goes for readers that wish to fully understand the text that they are reading.

Annotating text does not come a single form and many people find particular value in one form or another. The most common method that we see used is highlighting, underlining, and circle of key points or terms. While this does help many readers focus on important parts of the text it is sometimes overly used and distracts more than it helps. When you go back and review this form of annotation it is almost passive. I find that students have a greater level of success with summarizing key points and writing their comments in the margins of what they are reading. Once you create a super short summary, write a comment about the summary. This may be question that you have or something that is clear or unclear. You can even go back and write abbreviations or symbols next to the text that grabs you or puzzles you. Remember that these symbols and abbreviations are just for you, so there is no correct symbol to use.

The biggest concern that students have when using this technique is that it takes a great deal of time to do right. I would say you are correct, at first. When you get some experience with it and create your own style, it can be a game changer for your ability to understand what you read.

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Annotation ELA Sample

Instructional Routines

Sample Routine Adaptation: Annotation ELA Sample

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

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17 Awesome Annotation Activities

March 23, 2023 //  by  Laura Spry

By teaching kids annotation skills we can greatly improve their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. It’s important to first explain what annotation means so that learners understand why they will be working through this process. We’ve sourced 17 awesome annotation activities to get you started. Let’s take a look.

1. Poetry Annotation

To successfully annotate poetry, students must analyze and interpret the different elements of a poem in order to gain a deeper understanding of its literary devices and meaning. This activity teaches students to focus on the importance of looking into depth and complexity by focusing on the elements of speaker, pattern, shift, and description.

Learn More: Gifted Guru

2. Annotate Texts

This handy guide breaks down the key elements of learning to annotate texts. Start by using the cards that have two stories in the same genre. Dissect these using the prompts. Next, give students two stories that are from different genres and have them discuss the differences.

Learn More: Teaching with a Mountain View

3. Annotation Symbols

Annotation symbols can be used to provide additional information or clarification about a particular text. Have your students pick up to 5 of these symbols to annotate another student’s work. Having them read others’ work is great practice and symbols make great annotation tools!

Learn More: Pinterest

4. Annotate Books

Before you can annotate a book, it’s important to read it actively. Meaning, engaging with the text, taking notes, and highlighting key points. This is key when teaching students about annotation. Start by asking your students to annotate a page from your class text. They can start by underlining keywords individually and then add more detail during class discussion.

Learn More: The Wordy Habitat

5. Rainbow Annotation

By teaching students to use different colored sticky notes they can easily scan an annotated text for specific information. Here, they have used red for angry emotions, yellow for funny, clever, or happy sections, and green for surprising moments. These can easily be adapted for any text. Work together as a class to make your own colored key to ensure a variety of annotations are used!

6. Annotation Bookmarks

Encourage a variety of annotations by handing out these cool annotation bookmarks. Easily kept inside student books, there will no longer be an excuse for forgetting how to annotate! Students can add some color to these bookmarks and match the colors when annotating a text.

Learn More: Ideas by Jivey

7. S-N-O-T-S: Small Notes on the Side

Reminding students not to forget their SNOTS is sure to help them remember to make Small Notes On The Side! Using a green, kids are taught to underline key points. They can then go back over the text to circle important words, add diagrams, and make notes of what they would like to include in their response.

Learn More: The Applicious Teacher

8. Projector and Whiteboard

By setting your camera above a text and displaying this on your whiteboard, you can show your students how to annotate in real-time. Go through the common steps involved in basic annotation and let them have a go at annotating their own text using the methods you have shown.

Learn More: Teaching Teens in the 21st

9. Label the Turtle

Younger kids will need to be exposed to the labeling process before learning to annotate. This cute sea turtle activity teaches kids the importance of using the correct labels in their written work. The turtle can also be colored in once the written work is complete!

Learn More: Homeschool Preschool

10. Annotate the Flower

Working with real-world materials is a surefire way to get kids engaged with their work! Using a flower, have learners label the different parts.  Additionally, they can complete a drawing of their activity and add labels and extra annotations to each part.

Learn More: Lessons 4 Little Ones

11. Practice Notetaking

Notetaking is a skill that almost everyone will require in their lifetime.  Learning to take good notes is key when learning to annotate texts. Have your students gather on the carpet with their whiteboards. Read a few pages from a non-fiction book and pause for them to write down important things that they’ve learned. 

Learn More: Primarily Speaking

12. Mind Map to Annotate

Here, the key points are choosing a central idea by drawing or writing a keyword in the center of a piece of paper. Then, branches are added for key themes and keywords. Phrases are the sub-branches and gaps and connections should be filled with more ideas or annotations. This simple process helps students plan their annotations.

Learn More: Chloe Burroughs

13. Create a Color Key

Encourage students to make the correct labels by using a colored key. The descriptions will vary depending on the type of text you are annotating. Here, they have used blue for general plot information and yellow for questions and definitions.

Learn More: Tumblr

14. Annotation Marks

These level annotation marks can be placed in the margin of students’ work when annotating to show key points. A question mark symbolizes something the student does not understand, an exclamation mark indicates something surprising, and ‘ex’ is written when the author provides an example.

15. Annotate a Transcript

Provide each student with a transcript of a Ted Talk. As they listen, they must annotate the talk with notes or symbols. These will be used to help them write up a review of the talk. 

Learn More: TED Talks

16. Annotation Station

This activity requires careful observation and attention to detail. It works best as a small group or individual assignment. It works well as an online method by using breakout rooms in Google Meet or Zoom. Provide your students with an image to annotate. Students can then add details and make observations about the image. If you have touchscreen devices, students can use the pen tool to draw on top of the picture. For non-touch devices, use the sticky note tool to add observations.

Learn More: Chromebook Classroom

17. Annotate a Timeline

This can be adapted to your class book or topic. Discuss an appropriate timeline and set groups of students to provide collaborative annotations for that part of the story or area of history. Each student must provide a key piece of information and a fact to add to the annotated timeline.

Learn More: Mr T does Primary History

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Annotating text practice

Resource type.

Annotating Text : 5 Guided Practices l annotating worksheets

How to Annotate Text : Lesson, Handouts, Practice , Close Reading

Annotating Text Anchor Chart Annotating Practice Passages & Annotation Worksheet

Text Annotating Practice

Reading Log for Homework | Annotating Texts | INTERACTIVE BOOKMARKS | EDITABLE

#FSDEALS Annotating Literary Texts Nonfiction Close Reading Activities

Annotation Guide for Any Text w/ Google Slides Presentation + Three Practices

Nonfiction and Fiction Graphic Organizers for Reading Comprehension Practice

Annotating Practice

Close Reading Practice : Ten Strategies for Success with PRACTICE

RACE Strategy Practice Worksheets Short Constructed Response RACE Anchor Chart

Annotating Text Anchor Chart | Annotation Guide | Annotation Bookmark | Lesson

Passé Composé practice (avoir & être) with interpretive reading #1

How to Annotate a Text Anchor Chart for Middle School or High School

The Complete Personal Narrative Practice Bundle

How To Write Nonfiction: Introductions ( Practice + Mentor Texts + Presentation)

Fear and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible: Practice with Synthesis

Close Reading Task Cards: Annotate , Highlight & Find Evidence on the iPad

Outlining Practice with Informational Text {No-Prep Printables}

"Tackle the Text "- Entire Program for Close Reading, Annotating & Citing Text

Annotating Text : Collaborative Roles

Informational Text Response (ANY Nonfiction Text - Evidence based - Annotating )

Reading Strategies Bookmark Fiction & Non Fiction Reading Comprehension Practice

Introduction to How to Annotate a Text

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Annotating A Text

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1. Annotating a Text

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