Close Reading English 11

Develop & Practice good habits ANNOTATION “Reading with a pencil.”

Annotation is a note of any form made while reading text. “Reading with a pencil.”

People have been annotating texts since there have been texts to annotate.

Annotation is not highlighting.

Ask yourself four questions: What is the author telling me here? Were there any hard or important words? What does the author want me to understand? How does the author play with language to add to the meaning?

Basic Annotation Symbols Underline the major points Circle keywords or phrases that are confusing or unknown to you Use a question mark (?) for questions you have during the reading. Be sure to write the question. Use an exclamation mark (!) for things that surprise you, and briefly note what it was that caught your attention. Draw an arrow ( ↵ ) when you make a connection to something inside the text, or to an idea or experience outside the text. Briefly note your connections.

1. What the text says Search for nuances in meaning Determine importance of ideas Find supporting details for main ideas Draw inferences from text Answers who, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many.

2. What the text does Bridges literal and inferential meanings Denotation Connotation Shades of meaning Figurative language How organization contributes to meaning Point of view

3. What the text means Theme: What is the point? Compare/Contrast: mediums, texts, perspectives, authors Critical Literacy: Who’s story is not represented? Application: How is this relevant?