Celebrate Women’s History Month with Your Students
Celebrate Women’s History Month with your Students
Read about these women and practice annotation skills!
Why annotate?
I glanced at my high school son’s copy of the book Of Mice and Men, it looked like an angry preschooler had gotten hold of it and marked and slashed the text with a fury. I couldn’t have been more proud. It reminded me of all my days as an undergrad, underlining and scribbling furiously in my Shakespeare textbook. Arrows, exclamation points, and question marks covered the old bard’s words, making it look less literary and more akin to the creation of a graffiti artist.
DEVELOP STRONG COMPREHENSION SKILLS
Annotation is an important skill that can help struggling readers work towards the goal of better comprehending a text. Quick notes help summarize thinking, without interfering with the flow of information.
I practice annotation with my upper elementary students. Below is the annotation guide that I use with them. This is just a simple list of markings that the students can use when annotating a text.
I usually practice one or two of the items on the list at any one time. I start off with a short nonfiction passage and ask the student to code as he or she reads with a question mark for any questions the student might have and an exclamation point for anything surprising in the text.
IDEAS TO SOLIDIFY COMPREHENSION LEARNING
The next time we practice annotation, I again have the student look for questions and surprising portions, then add an asterisk for important facts and quotation marks for any important quotations in the text. As the student identifies these items, we also discuss why the author might have chosen to include that portion of the text- was it used to capture your interest? Did it help aid your understanding?
After practicing these skills, one or two at a time, students become more skilled and proficient at annotating their reading. Just always be sure to remind them that this is NOT to be done in library books! (Stay on good terms with the librarians at your school!)
Check out this unit on annotating!
MORE GREAT IDEAS!
PLAY A BINGO GAME!
Want to motivate and have fun with learning? Why not try a Bingo Game? A game can motivate the brain to learn and reinforces knowledge. Here is a great idea to use with your students after reading these passages about fearless women in history! Celebrate Women’s History Month!
